“The NCAA needs to make sure they are protecting women’s sports, not men in drag.”
That was the reaction from Washington D.C -based African-American blogger Lia Thomas over the weekend in response to Bruce Jenner winning an Olympic gold medal in the 1976 Olympics and now taking credit for paving the way for future athletes like himself who will compete in women’s events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Jenner “took three steps across a line that once seemed unbridgeable,” retired ABC News journalist Diane Sawyer said Sunday during her exclusive interview with Jenner on ABC’s 20/20 news magazine show . “Gender lines — blurred. Generation lines — crossed. Sport lines — erased,” continued Sawyer as she praised Jenner.
Explained Thomas: “And in Jenner’s mind, he has every right to compete against women because he ‘discovered’ women can be Olympians! FYI Bruce, you did not discover anything. Women have been competing in the Olympics since 1900.”
Jenner “took three steps across a line that once seemed unbridgeable,” retired ABC News journalist Diane Sawyer said Sunday during her exclusive interview with Jenner on ABC’s 20/20 news magazine show . “Gender lines — blurred. Generation lines — crossed. Sport lines — erased,” continued Sawyer as she praised Jenner.
The 61-year-old Jenner qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in the decathlon at the 1976 Games in Montreal. Jenner, who recently told Vanity Fair magazine that he is transitioning to a woman , is currently the face of the Wheaties breakfast cereal box and has also appeared in an H&M ad for Mother’s Day with his daughters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
Jenner qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in the decathlon at the 1976 Games in Montreal . Jenner, who recently told Vanity Fair magazine that he is transitioning to a woman , is currently the face of the Wheaties breakfast cereal box and has also appeared in an H&M ad for Mother’s Day with his daughters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
Explained Thomas: “And in Jenner’s mind, he has every right to compete against women because he ‘discovered’ women can be Olympians! FYI Bruce, you did not discover anything. Women have been competing in the Olympics since 1900.”
“But there is no indication that I am treated any differently than other females.. I just try to be who I am…My plea to the transgender community is to just live your life and don’t worry about what other people are going to say…All those people out there…(let them) say whatever they’re going to say.”
Jenner will soon be seen in an E! reality series chronicling his life as a woman. In that interview, Jenner claimed he has been competing against women for years without any issues stating: “But there is no indication that I am treated any different than other females..I just try to be who I am…My plea to the transgender community is to just live your life and don’t worry about what other people are going to say…All those people out there…(let them) say whatever they’re going to say.”
“It’s amazing how Bruce Jenner can still compete today,” continued Thomas’ post . “He would not be able to compete in the men’s decathlon … but since he is transitioning to a woman, he is allowed to compete in the women’s division! The NCAA needs to protect women’s sports.”
