Gabby Logan says transgender women competing in sport is ‘not fair’
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BBC presenter Gabby Logan has said that transgender women competing in competitive sport is “not fair.”
Logan publicly backed comments made by Sharron Davies and Martina Navratilova, who have recently come under fire for their comments about transgender women in sport.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Logan said women’s sport needs to be “protected” and said many other athletes “feel the same way.”
“[Sharron Davies] has been very vocal, she’s been on a lot of TV shows and talked about it a lot on her social media,” Logan said.
“As with a lot of female athletes, she’s had a lot of abuse, a lot of criticism from the transgender community who are very upset that she has spoken out.”
Logan then said: “We’re dealing with science here.” She also said that she was not trying to attack the transgender community, but was trying to ensure that women’s sport would remain fair.
Debate around transgender athletes has become increasingly toxic
The debate around transgender women in sport has grown increasingly toxic in recent months after tennis legend Martina Navratilova wrote a column for The Sunday Times objecting to the inclusion of transgender athletes in sport.
The column led to widespread backlash—and the rekindling of debate around transgender people in sport.
Navratilova, who has been a champion of gay rights and is a lesbian, said in her column that trans women competing against cisgender women would be a form of “cheating” and would be “unfair.”
“As with a lot of female athletes, she’s had a lot of abuse, a lot of criticism from the transgender community who are very upset that she has spoken out.”
– Gabby Logan
Athlete Ally, an LGBT+ sport organisation, subsequently cut ties with the tennis player.
In a statement published on their website on February 19, the group said her comments were “transphobic” and based on “a false understanding of science and data” that promotes “hateful stereotypes.”
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Sharron Davies said many female athletes feel the same way
Earlier this month, Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies waded into the debate on Twitter, where she said that transgender women would have an unfair advantage in competitive sport.
Speaking to BBC Sport after posting the tweet, Davies said that she has spoken to “many” female athletes in international sports, and that they all “feel the same way.”
“It is not a transphobic thing—I really want to say we have no issue with people who are transgender,” she continued
“Unfortunately, a lot of people who are in the races are in a very difficult predicament when they can’t speak out.”
After Davies spoke out, three LGBT+ sporting organisations released a joint statement condemning her comments.
Pride Sports, LEAP Sports Scotland and LGBT Sport Cymru said in their statement that trans athletes had been competing at the highest level of sport for 15 years.
They also criticised her use of the term “male sex advantage,” which they say is “problematic” as it “implies that all men are stronger and faster than all women.”
Furthermore, the statement suggests that men do have advantages over women in sport—but that this is largely to do with the “inequitable investment in women’s sport” instead of male physiological superiority.
