Unforced Error: Why Trans Activists Should Have Listened to Martina Navratilova

Should American superstar Coco Gauff be ostracized for saying she supports a ban on trans women in professional tennis, like many before her have been? 

Of course not, although if you're going to give her a pass for being "nicer" about it then I'm not sure that's cool, either.

But make no mistake: this non-issue never needed to become an "issue," much less one that voters cite in exit polls. Instead, in our haste for inclusivity we overreached and handed it to the right to weaponize. (Lee Atwater is applauding from his grave.) 

Years ago, Martina Navratilova co-founded the Women's Sports Policy Working Group to craft guidelines that ALLOWED trans girls and women to compete in non-elite sports. That potential compromise was dashed because everyone was too busy calling someone I consider the greatest champion of gay rights of my lifetime "transphobic" and ripping her a new asshole, leaving the field open for the needless across-the-board bans we're seeing now.

Party of science? I'm sorry, I know you mean well. But this just makes you sound like a lunatic.

And if your response to setting limits on trans participation is "Where are all these trans women dominating elite sports?" then that only bolsters my original argument: You're right -- there aren't any. So it should make it that much easier for us to stand down. 

Why it's so hard for us to acknowledge that we may have overreached just makes us look as obstinate as the doubling-down right. The only people who don't come out as winners in this concession scenario are those looking to hector people on social media. 

For what it's worth, every WTA player asked about the new policy this week has the same "unforgiveable" take as Navratilova has had all along. I predicted that well-meaning activists would ultimately harm trans people -- the ripple effect of these bans is immeasurable -- and sadly I was right. 

Footnote: Hypotheticals are not hills to die on. But since I went to the trouble of writing this, I suppose I should address the future. Clearly, as more people identify as transgender, the odds that one of them could become an outstanding athlete increase. Perhaps someday the distinction between cisgender and transgender women will be viewed so differently that this entire debate will seem antiquated. 

I don't see that happening. And I view the possibility of gifted trans athletes in the future missing out much the same way I see another biological roadblock: same-sex couples being unable to have children who share 50 percent of each partner's DNA. Some things in life simply aren't fair. 

But for the sake of the republic, let's cross that bridge when we come to it.

 None of these women should be in this position in the first place.