That's the argument certain activists keep making when it comes to the debate about trans athletes in female sports.
asserted
it → keep → sports
It's not a great position, frankly — because if something is wrong, it doesn't matter how rare it is.
asserted
it → matter → ?
It should be stopped, assuming doing so doesn't trigger undue consequences.
asserted
doing → stop → consequences
But new data suggests that this "uncommon" occurrence isn't so uncommon after all.
uncertain
occurrence → suggest → ?
Recent research from the Concerned Women of America found that transgender athletes have bumped biological women out of 2,293 championship spots since the mid-1980s.
asserted
athletes → find → mid-1980s
This is far different than simply noting the number of transgender athletes in sports.
asserted
This → note → sports
This is pointing out how many biological females would have won a specific honor if not for the trans athlete that took it.
asserted
that → point → it
For the report, the think tank drew on information compiled by HeCheated.org, a volunteer-operated database that tracks reported instances of trans athletes competing in women's sports.
asserted
athletes → draw → sports
In total, it found that they have partaken in more than 14,000 female sporting events ranging from high school to college to amateur to professional.
asserted
they → find → professional
The first page alone has 200 instances ranging from March 27, 2025, to September 18, 2026.
asserted
page → have → September
It shows examples of biological males making league All-Star teams in high school lacrosse, or winning high school state championships in track and field in Washington, California and Oregon, or earning All-conference recognition in college fencing.
asserted
males → show → fencing
There were also a couple of examples of trans athletes receiving "most improved" awards.
asserted
athletes → be → awards
And as long as laws that allow this to happen exist, there is no evidence of this slowing down.
asserted
this → allow → ?
Author Abigail Shrier wrote the book "Irreversible Damage" in 2020, in which she noted a 1,000 to 5,000 percent increase in the number of trans-identifying youth over a several-year period.
asserted
she → write → period
Other research has noted that this uptick has no end in sight.
asserted
uptick → note → sight
In 2023, the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that about three percent of high-school students identified as transgender.
asserted
percent → find → students
In 2025, the Williams Institute estimated that 724,000 Americans ages 13–17 identify as transgender, which was roughly equivalent to 3.6 percent.
asserted
which → estimate → percent
And the Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) estimated that trans/nonbinary identification for college students is at an all-time high, ranging from 4.7 percent to 6.7 percent.
asserted
identification → estimate → percent
That last number shouldn't affect participation in the NCAA, which requires athletes play on teams that match their sex assigned at birth.
asserted
that → affect → birth
But when we're talking about, say, the WNBA, which still doesn't have a concrete rule about gender restrictions, who's to say one of these college kids doesn't try to pull a much-more-subtle Enes Kanter and work their way into the league?
asserted
one → talk → league
When I was at The Seattle Times, I interviewed a high school athlete named Ahnaleigh Wilson, who lost to a boy in a high school track meet when she was in eighth grade.
asserted
she → interview → grade
She told me that she had since competed against four biological males in high school.
asserted
she → tell → school
I couldn't confirm that, but when I see research documenting biological males competing in more than 14,000 events involving females, and consider that alongside a UCLA study estimating that as many as 122,000 transgender youth may be competing in high school sports, I tend to believe her.
uncertain
I → confirm → her
There's a common pattern among the Left when it comes to issues such as these.
asserted
it → be → these
First, they say it's not happening.
asserted
it → say → ?
Then, they say "OK, it's happening, but it's rare."
asserted
it → say → ?
Then, they say "OK, it's happening frequently, but that's a good thing!"
asserted
that → say → ?
We're getting closer and closer to that third one.
asserted
We → get → one
I suppose what's "rare" and what isn't is open to interpretation.
asserted
what → suppose → interpretation
But there's no denying that trans athletes are upstaging females often enough for anyone paying attention to notice.
asserted
anyone → be → attention
Common sense doesn't appear as though it's going to stop this trend anytime soon.
asserted
it → appear → trend
The Aporia
