The Paralympics started with a good idea. It's an international multisports event, like the Olympics, but limited to athletes with a range of disabilities. This allows these people to compete on a more-or-less even basis with other athletes with similar disabilities.
Like the Special Olympics, this provides great recognition for disabled people who have overcome those disabilities and, by dint of years of hard work and practice, have achieved a level of proficiency in their sport that allows them to compete at the international level.
Sounds great, right?
But now the Paralympics are allowing cheating. Yes, you read that right. They are allowing cheating. How?
By allowing a man to compete in the women's 200 and 400-meter races. An Italian named "Valentina" Petrillo will be competing in those events — and "Valentina" is a man. Tennis great Martina Navratilova has a thing or two to say about that.
Tennis great Martina Navratilova slammed Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo as a "pathetic cheater" as the 50-year-old athlete is set to become the first transgender woman to compete in the Paralympics next week.
Navratilova, an outspoken supporter of protecting women’s rights in sports, took to social media on Thursday to call out Petrillo, who is slated to compete at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris in the women’s 200 and 400-meter races in the T12 classification for visually impaired athletes.
"Petrillo is a pathetic cheater," Navratilova’s post on X read.
Petrillo is a pathetic cheater. https://t.co/7vaDMmz1Bg
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) August 22, 2024
Why would Martina Navratilova say this? It's probably because Fabrizio "Valentina" Petrillo is a pathetic cheater.
Look, this isn't the case of a pre-pubescent or barely pubescent kid arguing to play on a local school girl's sports team, even though that is also hideously unfair. This is a man in his 50s, a man who "transitioned" in his forties after fathering several kids, a man who has all of the undeniable advantages of full, adult, male speed, strength, and stamina.
This is not a woman:
In 7 days this man, Fabrizio « Valentina » Petrillo, will be racing against women in the @Paralympics Games.
— Sybil from the Castle 🎗️ (@Groovision) August 21, 2024
He is welcome, according to @parsonsandrew
Did female athletes have a choice ? No.
Is it fair play ? No.
Is this cheating ? Yes.
Should Petrillo be disqualified ? Yes.… pic.twitter.com/Xq9Cq4aQZZ
And what's not stated here is what form Petrillo's "transition" took. Has he had any hormone treatments? Surgery? Or has he just grown his hair longer and demanded people use female pronouns? That's not clear, but the article linked above does provide the World Para Athletics guidelines for transgender athletes:
According to the AP, the WPA said transgender athletes in its women’s competitions are required to declare that their gender identity for sporting purposes is female and to provide evidence that their testosterone levels have been below 10 nanomoles per liter of blood for at least 12 months prior to their first competition.
That's an eyewash, and nothing more. An adult male, a man who has had normal hormone balance for over forty years of his life, has already realized the benefits in speed, strength, and stamina — a year or two of fiddling with endocrine levels won't change any of that. For crying out loud, just look at the photos of this guy!
See Related: New Hampshire: Judge Allows 'Transgender' Youths on Girl's Soccer Teams
Progressive Author Accuses the Right of Bigotry for Opposing Biological Males in Women's Sports
Enough is too much already. I've covered a fair amount of these stories, partly because I think the fundamental unfairness of allowing men to compete on women's sports teams needs to be publicized, and partly because my background in biology lends some insight into just how horribly unfair this practice is to the women involved in these events.
But this case is particularly egregious. There's not even a pretense of fairness. No matter what hormone treatments Petrillo has taken, this is clearly a man, with a man's body. He has no business competing against women in a sporting event at all, much less one that is a test of speed and stamina.
In an earlier post, Martina Navratilova reportedly said:
In an earlier post responding to a video of Petrillo speaking about the Summer Games, Navratilova said it was "sickening" that the Italian runner was "stealing women’s trophies."
"Yet another male stealing women’s trophies. In [the] Paralympics, no less. Sickening."
She's right. This is sickening. It is also wrong and unfair. The Paralympics should be collectively ashamed of themselves and kick this man out of the women's events immediately.
