(ConservativeSense.com) – An American Olympic cyclist is calling for fellow cyclists to stand up to policies allowing males who identify as transgender women to compete against biological women in sports after a trans cyclist took first place in the Tour of the Gila women’s category.
Three-time Olympian Inga Thompson posted a tweet recently urging other women cyclists to oppose policies put in place by the Union Cycliste Internationale allowing trans athletes to participate in women’s cycling competitions. She told her fellow cyclists to take a knee at the starting line and asked team members to “speak up,” as well as to hold signs in protest.
Thompson’s call for protest came in response to trans cyclist Austin Killips winning first place in the Tour of the Gila women’s category.
Thompson, who appeared on Fox News on Tuesday, accused the majority of the media of shutting down dialogue about the issue and said that many people like herself are “on the outside” trying to be a voice to encourage more women to stop being afraid to speak up due to consequences like lost sponsorships. She said this is why she’s urging team owners as well as fans to step up and support the women who are speaking out.
Trans-identifying males in women’s sports are becoming one of the most hot-button issues throughout the nation. In April, a bill to protect women’s and girls’ sports that passed the House was shot down in the Senate, and individual states are also proposing similar legislation.
Women who speak out about this issue face backlash, sometimes even violence, such as Riley Gaines who had to be escorted by police and barricaded in a backroom at a speaking event at San Francisco State University. Protesters shut down the event, assaulted Gaines, and forced her to barricade herself in the room for three hours.
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