Bob Costas Supports Olympic Committee Banning Trans Athletes from Women’s Events: ‘Common Sense Is Not Transphobic’

Longtime sportscaster Bob Costas expressed support for the Olympic committee’s decision to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports.

On Thursday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced new guidelines for female eligibility in the Olympic games. Per the new policy, participation in “any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females.” Athletes will have had to undergo a “gene test” at least once in their lives.

As noted in a report from The Associated Press, it’s unknown how many athletes the new policy will affect. The first — and most recent — openly transgender athlete to compete was New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard at the Tokyo games in 2021.

During a sit-down interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson, Costas applauded the IOC’s decision.

“Give me enough time to address this so I’m not misunderstood,” Costas began. “There are people who use this issue cynically for political purposes and they’re demonizing people who happen to be trans, who should be treated with respect and dignity and understanding; however, common sense is not transphobic. There’s a reason why the high school champions don’t compete with the college champions. There is a reason why no trans man, who was once a woman, and has become a man has ever competed successfully with men in the Olympics.”

Costas went on to praise Title IX as “one of the truly progressive pieces of legislation in the best sense of the word.” He then referenced trans swimmer Lia Thomas, adding that it “doesn’t make any sense” for Thomas to compete with women.

“If that’s what the person wants to do, that person should be treated with dignity and respect,” Costas continued, “but there ought to be common sense, and common sense is not transphobic, and this policy is common sense.”

The issue became a national discussion during the 2024 Olympics in Paris when Algerian boxer Imane Khalif was falsely identified as transgender.

Watch above via CNN

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