Megan Rapinoe Calls New IOC Policy "hateful"

She says the policy "will ultimately just prevent people from competing within the women’s category." Yes, it will prevent the men from competing in the women's category. That is the point.

Megan Rapinoe is very angry at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for implementing a policy to protect the women’s category, beginning in 2028 with the U.S. hosted Los Angeles Summer Games.

Here’s what the IOC said on March 26.

“. . . eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening.”

The IOC added that the policy was “evidence-based” and “expert-informed.”

World Athletics — the governing body for global track and field — revealed last fall that 50-60 athletes with male biological advantages have been finalists in the female category at global and regional championships since 2000. This includes people like Caster Semenya, the winner of the 800m at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Not to mention the silver and bronze medalists in that same race. The silver medallist was Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba and the bronze medallist was Kenya’s Margaret Nyairera Wambui. All three podium spots were won by males.

800m Silver medallist Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba (left), gold medallist South Africa’s Caster Semenya, and bronze medallist Kenya’s Margaret Nyairera Wambui. Photograph: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images

Critics are screaming about trans exclusion.

But the policy excludes males. And it’s the DSD athletes who have been more prevalent and more victorious in the Olympics — people like Semenya and Imane Khelif, the boxer who won gold in the women’s category in Paris (2024).

A week and a half after the policy dropped, Rapinoe has decided to weigh in.

Rapinoe has competed in three Olympics — 2012, 2016 and 2021. As a member of the U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT), she won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In Rio in 2016, the U.S. team placed 5th.

Here’s what Rapinoe had to say on her “A Touch More” podcast:

“Unfortunately, we have to say that all in the same breath as a really horrible rule came out from the International Olympic Committee. They announced a new policy that they’re calling, I can’t even believe that they’re calling it this because it has nothing to do with protecting women, I feel like two people, who played at the very highest level for every competition that you possibly could, don’t agree with this and never felt like this was an issue at all, ‘The Protection of the Female [Women’s] Category.’”

She is speaking with Sue Bird, her girlfriend, who has won 4 Olympic golds for the U.S. Women’s Basketball Team and is considered one of the greatest WNBA players of all time.

Rapinoe goes on:

“We already know that biology, as much as we want it to be just nice and clean and tight and perfectly in one category and another, it’s not. We know that. So, now what we’re doing is subjecting everybody, all women and all people who are identifying as women to this really invasive testing that only to me says like, ‘Oh we’re just trying to whittle it down to a certain type of woman.’ Is that what we’re doing? That’s really the whole game here.”

Correct. That certain type of woman the IOC is trying to whittle it down to is an actual woman.

“They sort of lost the battle on gay marriage and lost the battle on all these things so it’s just like, ‘We’re gonna have this whole campaign for all these years to just hate trans people,’ which is such a small percentage of the population. It’s actually on a single hand when we’re talking about sports. And just like thread the absolute tightest needle thread that you possibly could.”

Not trans people. Men. Men in women’s sports. People like Semenya and Khelif who stole medals from women.

Rapinoe continues, saying that the IOC implemented this policy because . . . Trump.

“This committee is framing it as based in science, which it’s not. This will ultimately just prevent people from competing within the women’s category that they feel like they have an unfair advantage. It’s just really hateful. There’s been so few athletes that are trans or competing as trans and it’s so blatant on its face. It’s a total acquiescence to the Trump administration and to really right-wing conservative politics that really is just bringing down so much hate against such a small percentage of people who are just trying to live their life. It’s just horrible and I’m just sickened by it, really.”

Since Rapinoe is so steeped in “science” and biology I’d love to know what the 3rd and 6th and 72nd sexes are that make biology not so clean.

She had a week and a half, certainly she has a full-time PR person on staff, and she came up with: “This will ultimately just prevent people from competing within the women’s category that they feel like they have an unfair advantage.”

What? That doesn’t even make sense. Yes, it will prevent men from competing within the women’s category. That is the point.

Girlfriend Sue Bird also weighed in saying the policy solves a problem that doesn’t exist. (It does exist. Exhibit one: Rio 2016, 3 men win medals in the women’s 800m.)

“. . . what’s being presented as this huge issue that we have to protect women. It’s not. What it is is fearmongering, and you brought up the [Trump] administration, for them to get votes. That’s all this is. It’s all that it’s ever been in my opinion.

I think the other part is a reminder. What we have always talked about and focused on is, if you open this door, if you crack this door open, it gets blown open and you’re not policing women’s bodies across the board.”

Ok, the IOC is not Trump. Kirsty Coventry said since she took over that she was going to protect the women’s category. She did it. Yay.

As for “policing women’s bodies” — Sue, were you not drug tested at the 4 Olympics that you won gold in? You too Megan, weren’t you drug tested at those 3 games? You peed in a cup with some official watching. That’s not policing women’s bodies. It’s ensuring fairness.

That phrase is so annoying. They all just say it like it’s actually a thing. Policing women’s bodies. What does that even mean?? My body is perfectly un-policed. (Bird and Rapinoe would say that is because I’m a white woman with privilege, undoubtedly. They are too, by the way. The couple is reportedly worth $25 million.)

Being male confers greater advantage than performance enhancing drugs. These two aren’t complaining about testing for drugs — which is also a more invasive test than the test for sex; and it has to be done every time vs one time because sex doesn’t change!

So why this?

Blind loyalty to the Democratic Party wins out over basic common sense and even concern for actual women’s rights — every time. It is maddening.

If they are really going all in on this inclusive, men can be women thing — they should really just advocate for the end of a women’s category. Seriously. Just make it one big free for all — let’s see what happens!

Some days I really don’t know how we get past this degree of crazy.