USA Today removes the word 'male' from op-ed by Connecticut's fastest female runner who called out the 'unfair fight' and 'tangible harms' of competing against transgender athletes
USA Today removed the word 'male' from an op-ed by a female runner after she called out the 'unfair fight' in competing against transgender athletes.
Chelsea Mitchell wrote about her time competing in Connecticut in a piece for the site published last week, where she said she had lost to 'male runners'.
Without consultation, USA Today then removed the word 'male', calling it 'hurtful', changing it instead to 'transgender'.
That decision has been slammed as 'appeasing the mob' by Mitchell's lawyer, Christiana Holcomb, who tweeted: 'This blatant censorship violates the trust we place in media to be honest brokers of public debate.'
Holcomb added: ''@USATODAY published our client Chelsea Mitchell’s opinion about the unfairness she experienced being forced to compete against male athletes.
'But after backlash from the woke mob, editors unilaterally changed Chelsea’s words & called them “hurtful language.” What was the "hurtful language" that editors deleted from Chelsea's opinion piece three days after publication? The word "male."
'USA Today violated its principles to appease the mob. This blatant censorship violates the trust we place in media to be honest brokers of public debate.
'Chelsea’s experience & viewpoint matters.'
Holcomb then shared a link to Alliance Defending Freedom which ran Chelsea's op ed in full without the changes.
USA Today removed the word 'male' from op-ed by a female runner after she called out the 'unfair fight' in competing against transgender athletes. That decision has been slammed as 'appeasing the mob' by Mitchell's lawyer, Christiana Holcomb, who tweeted: 'This blatant censorship violates the trust we place in media to be honest brokers of public debate'
Chelsea Mitchell, left, runs to beat Terry Miller, center, in February last year . Mitchell, along with two other runners, launched a lawsuit at the beginning of last year seeking to block a state policy that allows high school athletes to compete based on the gender with which they identify, arguing transgender girls have an unfair physical advantage
Mitchell, along with two other runners, launched a lawsuit at the beginning of last year seeking to block a state policy that allows high school athletes to compete based on the gender with which they identify, arguing transgender girls have an unfair physical advantage.
They are appealing after the case was dismissed by a judge last month.
The lawsuit centers on two transgender sprinters, Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, who have frequently outperformed their cisgender competitors. The two seniors combined to win 15 girls state indoor or outdoor championship races since 2017, according to the lawsuit.
Connecticut is one of just 17 states that allows high school athletes to compete in sports according to their gender identity without regulation, and three high school track athletes have filed a lawsuit to block transgender athletes from competing.
Without consultation, USA Today removed the word 'male', calling it 'hurtful'
Holcomb then shared a link to Alliance Defending Freedom which ran Chelsea's op ed in full
Mitchell argues that the policy 'robs girls of the chance to race in front of college scouts who show up for elite metes, and to compete for the scholarships and opportunities that come with college recruitment.
'When colleges looked at my record, they didn’t see the fastest girl in Connecticut. They saw a second or third-place runner.'
She wrote: 'I’ve lost four women’s state championship titles, two all-New England awards, and numerous other spots on the podium to male runners. I was bumped to third place in the 55-meter dash in 2019, behind two male runners. With every loss, it gets harder and harder to try again.'
But USA Today later updated the piece with a note which read: 'Editor's note: This column has been updated to reflect USA TODAY’s standards and style guidelines.
'We regret that hurtful language was used.'
Their amended version read: 'I’ve lost four women’s state championship titles, two all-New England awards, and numerous other spots on the podium to transgender runners. I was bumped to third place in the 55-meter dash in 2019, behind two transgender runners. With every loss, it gets harder and harder to try again.'
Bloomfield High School transgender athlete Terry Miller, second from left, wins the final of the 55-meter dash over transgender athlete Andraya Yearwood, far left, and other runners in the Connecticut girls Class S indoor track meet at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Conn.
Other sentences were changed from: 'The CIAC allows biological males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. As a result, two males began racing in girls’ track in 2017.
'In the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons alone, these males took 15 women’s state track championship titles (titles held in 2016 by nine different girls) and more than 85 opportunities to participate in higher level competitions that belonged to female track athletes.'
The USA Today version now reads: 'The CIAC (Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference) allows transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. As a result, two transgender athletes began racing in girls’ track in 2017.
'In the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons alone, these runners took 15 women’s state track championship titles (titles held in 2016 by nine different girls) and more than 85 opportunities to participate in higher level competitions that belonged to female track athletes.'
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation that expanded on last year's Supreme Court Bostock v. Clayton County ruling. which protected LGBTQ people in the workplace.
'It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex,' the court opinion reads.
No comments