Mick Hartley

From the Times:

Universities in Wyoming and Utah have joined an escalating boycott of a rival women’s volleyball team with a transgender player after interventions from Republican politicians.

Teams from four universities in Wyoming, Utah and Idaho have forfeited games against San José State University, which counts Blaire Fleming, who identifies as a woman, among its players.

Spencer Cox, Utah’s Republican governor, said on Wednesday that Utah State University volleyball team would forfeit their October 23 match against San José State, posting on X that it was “essential that we preserve a space for women to compete fairly and safely”.

The statement followed a similar announcement from the University of Wyoming’s Cowgirls. They had planned to go ahead with their game on Saturday and the team had told local media that “no student-athletes expressed any concern regarding their safety”.

Days before the game, however, the Cowgirls said in a statement that “after a lengthy discussion”, they had decided not to play.

The reason was not stated, but Cheri Steinmetz, a Republican senator for Wyoming, published an open letter calling for the match to be cancelled. Other local politicians expressed similar sentiments.

Steinmetz said that because the University of Wyoming was publicly funded, its Cowgirls “should not participate in the extremist agenda of Diversity Equity and Inclusion or propagate the lie that biological sex can be changed”.

“We further ask you to foster an environment where ladies are honoured and protected, and men are respectful and gentlemanly,” the letter added. Transgender rights and diversity and inclusion policies are a hot topic as November’s presidential election approaches. Sporting bodies across North America have struggled to craft a response on transgender participation…..

LGBT activists have criticised the moves. “Athletics should be about fostering teamwork, growth, and healthy competition — not about discrimination and exclusion,” said Santi Murillo of Wyoming Equality.

The controversy is presented as the result of pressure from Republican politicians who aren't up to speed on the joys of "fostering teamwork, growth, and healthy competition", promoting instead a cynical appeal to the old-fashioned virtues of honouring and protecting the womenfolk, while the men are gentlemanly and respectful – holding the doors open and offering up their seats on public transport. You sense the implication that these reactionaries think ladies should really stay in the kitchen anyway, and look after the kiddies.

But of course this is really about protecting women's sport from the incursion of stronger, faster, and bigger men. It's hardly the fault of the Republicans that the progressive left has lost its collective mind to gender ideology, and thinks (or claims to think) that men can become women simply by saying they're women. It's an open goal.