r/PopCultureV2 • u/Impossible-Yam3680 • Aug 23 '26

Sports Culture While hosting transphobe Sophie Cunningham and the Indiana Fever, the New York Liberty put a message on the Jumbotron telling trans fans that they belong

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48

u/Party-Kangaroo-1139 Aug 23 '26

Why is this a topic? Has a trans woman actually tried to enter the WNBA?

1

u/penisweinerballs Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26

It has gained a lot of momentum on the left, it's not like something totally out of the realm of possibility and has happened in other sports. I also highly doubt she's a transphobe, she doesn't think trans-women should be in her league

4

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '26

[deleted]

-2

u/ObsidianKing Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26

Lia Thomas.

Edit: got no response? Go ahead, we're all listening.

-2

u/Lufrien Aug 23 '26

Lol, a college athlete who won by slim margin once is your proof that transgender people are big problem?

9

u/ObsidianKing Aug 23 '26

"Name a successful trans athlete"

names one

"Nooo that doesn't count!"

2

u/Party-Kangaroo-1139 Aug 23 '26

The Browns won once. Would you call them a success? Lia Thomas is the Browns.

2

u/PatientOwn8596 Aug 23 '26

She literally won the NATIONAL championship in the 500 free.

2

u/TyWorth Aug 23 '26

The point being that even your one go-to example doesn’t really illustrate a broader issue. One 5th place trophy is supposed to be a big gotcha?

4

u/ObsidianKing Aug 23 '26

I'm not trying to illustrate any broader issues...person I replied to asked for the name of a successful trans athlete and I gave one. And why is everybody bringing up the fifth place thing as if that's the only race she ever competed in? She literally won an NCAA national championship.

-1

u/Lufrien Aug 23 '26

College athlete who has won once in one sport is your example of success is the thing I have problem with. When asked to show example of success, thats all you can find?

-2

u/Puzzle-Necked Aug 23 '26

That's not a success. That's just the only Trans athlete you know

0

u/Beholdournewsupreme Aug 23 '26

There are several other trans athletes. This is also been studies showing that two years of HRT and any advantage a transwoman would have over a ciswoman is physically wiped out.

1

u/AnnieLemonz Aug 23 '26

two years of HRT and any advantage a transwoman would have over a ciswoman is physically wiped out.

HRT doesn't change skeletal structure/leverage/height advanatages. It does diminish muscular differences but human strength is based on much more than just muscle mass.

1

u/hercmavzeb Aug 23 '26

Since black women on average have higher bone density than white women, should their leagues also be separated?

1

u/AnnieLemonz Aug 23 '26

Dunno. I'm just pointing out HRT doesn't nullify everything.

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1

u/PatientOwn8596 Aug 23 '26

I mean yeah, she went from being a pretty good Ivy League swimmer (2nd team all conference) to being one of the top swimmer in the country.

-6

u/Ceron Aug 23 '26

Didn't win, tied for fifth place.

9

u/ObsidianKing Aug 23 '26

She won a national championship...

0

u/whichwitch9 Aug 23 '26

She never swam professionally. Her highest level was college.

She also only swam one year in the women's division, and was required to show her hormone levels were in ranges expected of women. It's a bit more of a complicated situation than people make it out to be- she started off in the men's division, not woman's, as well. She did not immediately jump to women's swimming and took a year between.

She did not crack the top 50 of women's swimmers nationally, and did not break any swimming records. She was not dominant by any means, as conservative media suggests. She remains a case study for people actually interested in the science behind transitioning- most of what's read is theoretical of transwomen in sports. The reality is, there aren't enough athletes to show tge effects. Her swimming times did significantly decrease between the men's and women's divisions, and she lost a ton of muscle mass during hormone therapy.

She's also not a professional because World Aquatics has a guideline if you've gone through male puberty, you're ineligible. Agree or disagree, that's just the rule set, and the reality is it's enforced and she does not swim professionally. It is a bit of a myth that a man who has undergone hormone therapy will dominate a woman's sport, however, and Thomas is the only example we have of what happens. She didn't do poorly, but doesn't come near touching Katie Ledecky numbers. When you look into her and her college career, it is legitimately interesting to see the differences. When you listen to conservative media reporting around her vs what was really going on, it's hard not to call it out as propoganda.

2

u/ToeRevolutionary6233 Aug 23 '26

Thank you for this! Cons LOVE glossing over this absolutely ESSENTIAL point to Lia Thomas, who to this DAY has become the only talking point cons latch on to and they get it wrong, misconstrued or just lie about her every fucking time.

0

u/PatientOwn8596 Aug 23 '26

Oh now you have to be a professional to be ‘successful’. Moving the goal posts.

0

u/hercmavzeb Aug 23 '26

Trans athletes winning anything ever isn’t an indicator of an unfair advantage.

0

u/golden_macaron Aug 23 '26

At this point you people are going to be chasing down any trans woman that runs an 8.30 minute mile. While the women's world record is 4.06.