The San Francisco Chronicle reported there was little scientific evidence to back up the argument that women are at a disadvantage when playing against transgender athletes in sports competitions.
The Northern California paper published at least two stories in the past week defending transgender athletes in female sports, after "widespread hate campaigns" had led two trans high school athletes to drop out of a statewide track and field competition.
"Attacks on trans athletes have little basis in science," the Chronicle claimed in a piece published Friday in the Science section. "The science is far from clear as to whether trans athletes are actually faster or stronger than their cisgender peers, experts say. The evidence is especially murky for teen athletes, who may be going through puberty or taking drugs to suppress hormones — actions that could improve their performance or hinder it, or have very little impact at all."
The report said a lack of available research studying the differences between trans athletes and their peers made it "challenging to understand" what advantages trans athletes could have. The Chronicle cited two small studies out of the UK which suggested that transgender athletes had no "significant advantage" against other athletes. Both studies were authored in part by a transgender runner and PhD researcher.
Youth sports experts told the paper they believe the physical, mental and social health benefits of athletics for youth "outweighs any potential issues of unfairness." Athletes who believe transgender competitors will deter women from competing in sports were not included in the article.
The Chronicle again downplayed the biological differences between men and women in a separate sports piece on Sunday.
"Trans women and girls have come under harsher attack than trans men and boys, due to a perceived but scientifically murky advantage from people assigned male at birth," it reported.
One transgender athlete told the paper it was "propaganda" to believe trans women had an advantage over biological women in sports.
"It’s propaganda based on lies, because science is for the inclusion of trans people," Schuyler Bailar told The Chronicle. Bailar is the first openly transgender NCAA athlete who swam on the men’s team at Harvard University during the 2018-19 season.
"These statements like ‘what is a woman’ or ‘women equals adult female’ are harmful to cis women too, because it reduces a woman to her reproductive capacity in order to distinguish her from a trans woman. That is not a primary cornerstone of feminism — women are more than their bodies," Bailar continued.
News outlets like NPR and NBC News have been criticized for pushing this argument.
NPR issued a correction in March, after facing backlash for tweeting there was "limited scientific research" to demonstrate elite trans athletes had a biological advantage in sports against women.
A NBC News reporter made a similar statement last year during a report on its streaming service about transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
"You have folks who say there is very little scientific evidence that shows those advantages [higher testosterone] carry over for trans women after transition," NBC Out reported.
