First, the header, "leaves out he’s transgender," should read "she's transgender." Not off to a great start when you purposefully use the wrong pronoun.
In the second paragraph, the article claims Montana was being "circumspect" by listing Eastwood as the Athlete of the Week rather than Female Athlete of the Week. After spending two more paragraphs writing about how Montana made no note of male/female Athlete of the Week, it is not until the third to last paragraph of the article that the author actually quotes the cross country SID at Montana, who says, "I guess that’s just the way I write it." The article then notes that "he did the same for other athletes last month and in March who were recognized by the Big Sky Conference." It's actually pretty common in NCAA athletics to refer to just athlete of the week rather than qualify as male or female. I've linked to a story from yesterday where ND's Anna Rohrer was named Performer of the Week, no qualifier. It was disingenuous for the author to suggest Montana was trying to hide something.
I chuckled when the author assumed the other athletes Eastwood beat were biological females based only off their head shots. Look at June Eastwood's bio pic on Montana's page, and tell me if it's obvious she is transgender.
The article then references and quotes from American Thinker, which is a trash website that would get a bad delete on the Political Board.
I think one can have a completely separate discussion about the rules regarding transgender participation in sports (i.e., testosterone level testing vs. hormone suppression). There likely will never be a perfect system, and even the Olympics have yet to come to a consistent place, varying between distances and disciplines in the same sport. I think the NCAA has come out in a pretty good spot (which, again, may not be perfect) in requiring one year of testosterone suppression treatment. The idea that a person seeking gender reassignment will just flush pills down the drain or that a doctor will blindly just check off a box saying "All good," is silly. A school and team doctors need to document and monitor the hormone or surgical suppression over the course of the year.
If a transgender student-athlete in the ACC meets all NCAA eligibility requirements to compete, then they should be able to receive any awards available to them.
males switching over into the female lane.
If the world organizations don't handle this properly, they're going to lose a significant portion of their audience.
Probably because the article was so poorly written/researched.
I think there's good debate to be had on transgender participation in athletics. I know there's been quite a lot on NDNation already. Should participation be allowed at all, and if so, what parameters should be put in place to best level the playing field? Whether it's testosterone level testing, hormone suppression, surgical intervention, etc., each method comes with its own set of pros and cons. If you think transgender participation should be allowed, I would not let perfect be the enemy of good. Sports organizations will still need to decide whether to error on the side of inclusiveness or fair play (which might not be the best phrase to use there).
For now at least, if an organization permits transgender participation, and the athlete meets all requirements to be eligible to compete, then I think that athlete should be able to receive any award or accolade that comes with it.
The author wasn't making an argument about the advantages a male has over a female athlete. Rather, the author erroneously implied that Montana was trying to hide something (they weren't) and that it's possible that Eastwood gamed the system during hormone suppression therapy by potentially not taking the meds or flushing them (there is no evidence of that claim). In my original post, I wasn't trying to argue one side or the other of the biological debate or fair play. I certainly wouldn't use that article if I wanted to make an argument one way or the other.
Comparing brothers and sisters, the male is usually several inches taller with a wider frame and bone structure. He typically has a larger heart and lungs. A transgender female should maintain these traits/advantages even if balancing testosterone would eliminate musculat advantages.
and heard, you are correct.