Thread by @coachblade

Part of this #UNSPORTING situation is the need to ask.
This is the inevitable endpoint, right?
Bullying & gaslighting of female athletes, all for the sake of #sports organizations TRYING to be “inclusive” of (largely) privileged white males representing ~0.15% of the population.

https://twitter.com/JanePagie/status/1532261233239392256

Since I am both a former athlete, #sports program designer, and personal coach who also serves as president of a provincial sports organization (governance), my perspective of “big picture” informs me that retaking lost ground requires a coordinated effort.
One-off efforts …

…will make headlines but deep within #sport random boycotts or tweeting something will never be enough. Nothing wrong with these initial measures, but something much more comprehensive is going to be required, involving:
Athletes
Coaches
Families
Sponsors
Bureaucrats
Politicians

It is with this “big picture” lens that I hesitate to immediately call for female athletes to take it upon themselves to try to fix this problem all on their own.
It is why I never blamed #IvyLeague swimmers for remaining silent when #LiaThomas came along.
Their instinct was…

…valid. These young intelligent #IvyLeague women KNEW that if one or two of them would speak 🗣 they would be sacrificing their entire future to little avail. The #NCAA, social media, universities, and orgs like #ACLU wield such overwhelming power it is inconceivable that…

…some random athlete (or even a small group of them) is going to make a difference. Consider that fact that the shocking spectre of #LiaThomas h**self STILL was not enough to shake the woke #EDI zealots within the #NCAA & #IvyLeague to reconsider their erroneous positions on…

… “inclusion” of males who self-identify as women and allowing them to absolutely DEVASTATE entire elite sections (finalists) within the female category. The female athlete is utterly defenceless, without a coordinated effort from many sectors. I am not saying she shouldn’t …

… be involved in the solution. Rather, my position is that we cannot expect her to provide the ONLY solution, launching a hapless protest at great risk to herself. I mean, consider the fact that #BritishCycling said “no” to #EmilyBridges due to a planned boycott of female…

… athletes and mere weeks later we see the same (male cyclist) #EmilyBridges atop a female podium celebrating h** win with a kiss. A singular act by female athletes looked like a victory, but the same old misogyny crept right back into the mix.

So… what DO we do?

It seems…

… a lasting solution to #SaveWomensSports will involve TWO branches of action:

1. Inside #sports

2. Outside #sports

And let’s be realistic: Those involved in any “act” within either branch should be ready to accept with full humility that THEIR act is only one part…

… of a much more comprehensive effort. As impactful as things go, it’s not ONLY @MattWalshBlog with “What is a woman” documentary or @HJoyceGender with her amazing book “Trans”. It’s not ONLY @WorldRugby with their tremendously courageous stance (thanks to @Scienceofsport )…

… It’s not ONLY the wonderful academic contributions of @FondOfBeetles @TLexercise @runthinkwrite or the enormous impact of organizations like @fairplaywomen @SaveWomensSport @iChampionWomen @ContraBorrado @cawsbar @WomensLibFront @WDI_USA .

My friends, this struggle is …

… going to have to be comprehensive, sustained and immense. Because we are being required to confront one of the most formidable socio-cultural-political tsunami of all human history. Seriously. After four years in this battle for women’s #sports (short compared to others!)…

… I am now aware that #GenderIdeology has embedded itself as the new cultural “religion” that has so thoroughly contaminated every aspect of Western culture that nothing short of a comprehensive, coordinated campaign - on many fronts - is going to be required to right the ship.

What does that look like in #sports, then?
We already know, actually:
Athlete boycotts? Perhaps, but not without:
-Messages to sponsors
-Science papers telling us the truth about #biology
-People like me saying “no” within #sport policy meetings
-Political actors right & left …

- Journalists like my dear friend @BarbaraRKay
- Think tank entities like @MLInstitute
- Parent groups like the new ICONS forming to protect #TitleIX in the #USA 🇺🇸

Again, there will be MANY acts both inside & outside #sports.

So… PLEASE … if one act at a particular…

… moment in time seems to be the “IT thing” of the week or month [like the incredible documentary by @MattWalshBlog], can we not attack “IT thing” as if it’s somehow not worthy or not valid or sucking the oxygen out of the greater struggle?
Can we not accept it as one key act…

… that simply adds to the greater struggle for #SexBasedRights across the broad spectrum of socio-political actors?
This struggle will not be successful unless it is comprehensive and spans the political spectrum.
With respect to #sports, we accept ALL contributions.🙏🏼

END 🛑