by Anthony Gockowski
USA Powerlifting will be forced to allow biological males to compete against women thanks to a ruling from Ramsey County Judge Patrick Diamond.
April Hutchinson, a female powerlifter for Team Canada, spoke out against the ruling on Tucker Carlson Tonight Wednesday.
“The women of powerlifting — we’re outraged, we’re angry, we’re hurt, we’re offended. We’re basically every emotion except for happy,” she said. “Would I feel good about myself if I was a male taking female records? No.”
Hutchinson said many women are scared to speak out but she receives messages every day from female athletes, thanking her for standing up for women in sports.
“A lot of women are silenced or feel silenced and that they have no voice. They’re afraid to speak up, maybe fear of getting kicked out of the federation,” Hutchinson said. “We’re growing stronger and louder and the amount of support is overwhelming.”
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by JayCee Cooper, a biological male who identifies as a woman, against USA Powerlifting in 2021 after being barred from competing in women’s competitions.
“Our rules state that divisions are based on sex, and that analysis of scientific data reflects the inherent differences in strength in powerlifting, between biological males (XY) and biological females (XX). This difference is so significant that reduction of androgens does not, and cannot overcome these differences,” USA Powerlifting said at the time.
“To allow those born and who went through puberty as males to compete as females would be inherently discriminatory against a federally protected class: women. Further, allowing transgender males to use androgens when no other category of athlete is allowed them represents an unfair advantage and is against the founding principles of USA Powerlifting,” they added.
In his 46-page ruling, Judge Diamond asserted that Cooper “was discriminated against because of her sexual orientation and because of her sex.”
“The harm is in making a person pretend to be something different, the implicit message being that who they are is less than. That is the very essence of separation and segregation and it is what the [Minnesota Human Rights Act] prohibits,” said Diamond, a Dayton appointee.
USA Powerlifting officials are considering an appeal.
– – –
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and reported for The Daily Caller.
Photo “April Hutchinson” by April Hutchinson. Background Photo “Courtroom” by Carol M. Highsmith.
