“Cheating!” “Unfair!”
Those were some of the cries of various people across social media after trans soccer player Mara Gomez played her first match in the women’s first division of the Argentinian Football Association on Tuesday.
If I told you the score was 7-1, you might think these people have a point, right?
Wrong.
The reaction is completely idiotic, given Gomez’s team was the one being crushed by the opposing Lanus team, 7-1. How is it “unfair” and “cheating” for a player to be on a team… that gets absolutely demolished by their opponents?
In fact, the last time these two clubs played — November 2019 — Lanus won by only three points. Gomez did not play in that match, yet that match was considerably closer.
Go figure.
Claiming Gomez’s presence in this match was somehow “unfair” and “cheating” — with her opponents crushing her club — demonstrates the lack of thought that goes into a lot of the opposition to trans women in women’s sports. Gomez brought no “unfair” advantage to her team in that match. Zero.
The calls for Gomez to be banned from the league have been clearly lost on her opponents. After the match, the players from Lanus gave Gomez one of their jerseys to honor her first competition in the league. Moved by the gesture, Gomez broke down in tears.
The Lanus players even put Gomez’s name on the back, symbolizing that she — despite wearing different colors — is part of their team.
An amazing gesture of sportsmanship and good will.
As I’ve said over and over and over, the conversation about trans inclusion in sports is an important one to have. And the knee-jerk, baseless “ban all trans women from women’s sports” has got to stop. It looks foolish and it cheapens the entire conversation.
No trans woman has ever dominated women’s sport. Ever.
Gomez joins the long list of trans women simply working hard and doing their best to stay competitive in her sport.
