The transgender issue reared its ugly head again this week as female participants felt compelled to withdraw from a notable martial arts competition citing safety concerns.
Biological female competitors have traditionally competed in female-only categories. However, in recent years, the rules changed to allow female-identifying athletes to compete in the women’s division.
As there are no weight limits in the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) jiu-jitsu events, it is possible for a strong but slight biological female to be paired with a much larger and naturally stronger competitor.
This was the case last month when Taelor Moore, a 135-pound woman, posted a video of her fighting a 200-pound transgender athlete.
Is this Fair? 🤔The NAGA Absolute Division #grindfacetv
@ taelornmoore pic.twitter.com/KTfXEOzYdp
— GrindFace TV (Entertainment) (@grindfacetv) September 11, 2023
According to Breitbart, Moore won the match but her coach complained to officials that she could have been “severely injured.”
Earlier this month, Reduxx reported that Corissa Griffith, a transgender jiu-jitsu competitor overpowered opponents and won four gold medals at an event in Georgia.
One female competitor, Jayden Alexander, said she was left in tears after fighting a transgender woman in July. She shared she was so “devastated” and afraid, she pulled out of future competitions.
“The simple fact of the matter is that men, signing up in a combat sport to fight women, is absolutely unacceptable,” she said.
“We don’t deserve to self-exclude from competitions to avoid fighting men,” she added. “We deserve for there to be rules and regulations put into place that keep us safe and that protect us from these situations happening in the first place.”
Another biological female competitor complained: “Girls are traumatized. … I can’t believe people think this is OK.”
As the complaints grew in number and intensity, and biological female competitors threatened to withdraw from future events, NAGA updated participation guidelines to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in women’s categories.
🚨BREAKING🚨
In response to Reduxx's exclusive report yesterday, the North American Grappling Association has issued a full policy revision.
Trans-identified males will now have to compete in the men's category.
The female category will be exclusively for women. https://t.co/S9fMAirnQB pic.twitter.com/GTCNbLuEgm
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) October 28, 2023
NAGA president Kipp Kollar said: “Maintaining fairness for female athletes is our paramount priority,” noting that it is “even more important given the heightened potential for injury in grappling.”
Kollar added: “Transgender females must compete in the men’s division.”
The updated policy states: “We hope that the simplicity of this revised policy will help to avoid any future occurrences where transgender females enter women’s divisions. If NAGA staff is informed that a transgender female is in a women’s division, they will be given the choice to go to the men’s division or given a refund.”
