Jill Stein’s Green Party running mate opposes trans inclusion in women’s sport

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s running mate Butch Ware has been criticised for stating that ‘biological males’ shouldn’t compete in female sport.

In a clip shared by lawyer Olayemi Olurin on Friday (1 November), vice-presidential hopeful Butch Ware can be heard calling trans women ‘biological males’, saying: “I don’t think biological males should play in female sports. It gives an unfair competitive advantage.”

There is no definitive evidence to suggest that trans women have an inherent biological advantage over cis women in competitive sports. In fact, a study, partly funded by the International Olympic Committee, and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in April, suggested that, while trans athletes have shown promise in things such as grip strength, they performed worse in cardiovascular tests.

The study showed that trans women could be disadvantaged in strength, lower-body, and lung capacity tests, while their bone density was consistent with their cisgender female peers.

Green Party VP Butch Ware:

“I don’t think that biological males should play in female sports” pic.twitter.com/3X0gJvLh2x

— Olayemi Olurin (@msolurin) November 1, 2024

“These differences underscore the inadequacy of using cisgender male athletes as proxies for transgender women athletes,” the study’s authors wrote.

The term ‘biological males’ is often used as an anti-trans dog whistle to legitimise the misgendering of trans men and women.

Ware, an associate professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who joined Stein’s ticket in August, was also accused of “helping Trump win” by supporting a national ban on abortion, by Democratic strategist Lis Smith.

Asked if there should be limits on abortion, Ware, who is also a hip hop artist, replied: “Of course, there should be limits on everything. There’s almost nothing that should be left completely unregulated.

“But I think a lot of the kind of common sense regulations that most Americans agree on is essentially 60/40 issues … something like 16 week[s]. I won’t go into the finer points of it, but of course there have to be limitations.”

Jill Stein and the Green Party have been contacted for comment.