Comedian and talk show host John Oliver caused some controversy on a recent show in which he argued that allowing trans-identified men to participate in girls’ sports was acceptable and posed no risk to the safety of female athletes.
“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling quickly countered Oliver’s claims, explaining why forcing female athletes to compete with men is unfair and perilous.
During the episode, Oliver discussed how Republicans effectively used Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for biological men in women’s sports against them in the 2024 campaign. He lamented the fact that Harris’ campaign had failed to “formulate a response, largely because it’s pretty simple.”
“Watch, I’ll do it for you now. As we’ve discussed before, there are vanishingly few trans girls competing in high schools. Even if there were more, trans children, like all children, vary in their athletic abilities and there is no evidence that they pose a threat to safety or fairness. It is very strange that you are so focused on this topic. Finally, if you really want to address the biggest concern of most girls who play high school sports, worry less about that and more about the creepy assistant volleyball coach who constantly likes their posts on damn Instagram. “
John Oliver claims there is no safety risk for male students to compete against girls.
Payton McNabb suffered serious head injuries after being hit in the face by a male competitor during a high school volleyball game.
She now has 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀. pic.twitter.com/KWSLNy1bJN
– Gays Against Groomers (@againstgrmrs) November 15, 2024
Rowling opened up in a lengthy post
“According to the United Nations, female athletes have lost nearly 900 medals to trans-identified men who competed against them in women’s sports categories. Girls were pushed out of the teams to make room for boys. Women suffered serious injuries while playing against trans-identified men (see Payton McNabb, mentioned below).”
The author further argued that those who promote the idea that biological men in women’s sports aren’t a large deal are trying to “compensate themselves against the impact of cultural elites in media, academia, and publishing who are more than willing to do so.” “Kick people to the side of the road because they don’t say the accepted mantras.”
None of this feels good because John Oliver gave generously of his time to my charity Lumos and I really liked him when I met him, but God knows if you ever need an example of motivated reasoning and confirmation bias, this video is it the right thing for you. An undoubtedly wise… https://t.co/3IS4onzXq0
— JK Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 17, 2024
Payton McNabb, who Rowling referenced in her post, was injured by a trans-identified male player from the opposing team during a volleyball game in 2022. She suffered a severe concussion and a neck injury after he hit her in the face while hitting the ball.
Here is a video in which the girl can be seen being punched in the face.
John Oliver lies at the expense of girls everywhere.
He should be ashamed.https://t.co/g0EZJBGBwF pic.twitter.com/urjKc3cT2t
– Gays Against Groomers (@againstgrmrs) November 15, 2024
McNabb’s story is one of several in which female athletes have been injured by male players.
