Skip to main content

Broken Bones vs. Hurt Feelings: UK Rugby Refs Quitting After Bearded Transgender 'Women' Hurt Female Players

Share This article

Transgender women in the United Kingdom, who are actually biological males, are ruining the amateur sport of rugby, according to women referees who are quitting the sport in droves. The referees say the transgender women are injuring female players and they are afraid of being sued. 

The Sunday Times reports the referees are quitting over the admission and acceptance of the male athletes. 

"Being forced to prioritize hurt feelings over broken bones exposes me to personal litigation from female players who have been damaged by players who are biologically male. This is driving female players and referees out of the game," one anonymous referee told the newspaper. 

The referees also said they were told not to challenge any bearded or heavily muscled players of any women's team.

The sport does have a testosterone limit. However, referees are told not to check with the league, but to take the players at their word.

"If you even ask the question, you are told you are a bigot," another referee told the UK newspaper, stating that they had witnessed five different women's players with beards over the course of half a season.

The BBC reports one biological male who plays on a women's team after transitioning from male to female is hurting his own teammates. The team captain recalls one time when she folded an opponent "like a deckchair." 

The team's coach even told the television network, "She's going to be a good, good player for the next few years, as long as we can stop her injuring players in training."

Former Olympic silver medalist Sharron Davies told The Sunday Times that allowing transgender women to play on female rugby teams doesn't make any sense.

"My daughter Grace was told at the age of 11 she could no longer play with the boys because it was no longer safe," Davies noted. "How can they have that rule in place and … say it is perfectly OK for a transgender woman who is a biological man to play with the girls, but girls who are girls are not allowed to play with the boys because it is dangerous?" 

As CBN News reported, the fairness issue when it comes to transgender athletes competing against biological females has come up several times in several sports venues over the last two years. In October 2018, a biological man who identifies as a female won a women's world championship cycling event in California, sparking debate over how transgender athletes should be judged in sporting events.

In 2017, a boy who identifies as a girl won the girl's 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in state championships in Connecticut. Earlier that same year, a 17-year-old transgender boy won the Texas state girls' wrestling championship.  

In June 2019, three female high school athletes filed a federal discrimination complaint against Connecticut's policy regarding transgender athletes. The girls claim they were racing at a disadvantage against their transgender opponent, a male who identifies as a female, impacting the final results of the race.

Two months ago, the federal government agreed to investigate allegations of discrimination filed by the girls. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the athletes formally requested the investigation.

Share This article

About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of