Former boxer Kara Castronova: USA's new 2024 transgender rules allow biological men to compete against women. “This could be life or death for these female athletes.” | Critic portal

USA Boxing's new transgender policy allows biological men to compete against women in amateur boxing events.

Gateway Pundit reporter and former USA Boxing Champion appeared on Newsmax and criticized the new policy.

Watch the video here:

“This could be life or death… It's very scary for me as a former boxer.”

Former boxing champion @kara castronova He criticizes American boxing for allowing biological males to compete against women. @Sean Chrisman @Emma Reichenberg pic.twitter.com/y3PMDRGpPw

— Newsmax (@NEWSMAX) January 4, 2024

As a former nationally ranked athlete by USA Boxing, this reporter believes this policy is dangerous and could lead to disability or death for biological female athletes. This sport is already dangerous as it is. Amateur boxers died in the ring competing against members of the same sex. This takes the sport to a whole other level of reckless danger.

Besides sex reassignment surgery, the new policy only uses testosterone levels as a biological indicator of what constitutes male or female in the sport. If a biological male takes estrogen and manages to achieve a testosterone level of less than 5 mol/L, that person will be eligible to trap a biological female.

Taking estrogen to lower a man's biological testosterone level or removing male sexual organs does not reduce a man's biological fist size!

Moreover, lowering testosterone and removing sex organs will not diminish the biological male's bone density or superior athleticism, or the joints, reaction time, or brain wiring that give him a massive advantage over natural-born female fighters. It will not remove the advantages that biological males were born with testosterone in developing muscle strength. It does not reduce the size of their hearts and large lungs, which gives them greater endurance. a period. end of story.

According to a must-read study by the National Library of Medicine:

“Testosterone drives much of male-enhancing athletic performance during utero, early life, and adult exposure. Many of the anatomical differences between the sexes that are driven by testosterone are irreversible. Hemoglobin levels and muscle mass are sensitive to testosterone levels in adult life, with hemoglobin being the most Response. Studies in transgender women and cancer patients treated with androgen deprivation show that muscle mass is retained for months, even years, and that accompanying exercise mitigates muscle loss. Given that athletics is currently separated into two divisions for males And females due to the superior athletic performance of males, and that estrogen treatment will not reverse most standards of athletic performance, it follows that transgender women will enter the women's division with an inherent advantage due to their previous male physiology.

Current IOC regulations allow trans female athletes to compete if their testosterone levels have been reduced to below 10 nmol/L for 12 months prior to competition. While this begins to address the beneficial effects of circulating testosterone on athletic performance, it does not take into account the advantage provided by pre-transition exposure to testosterone. Existing data suggest that lowering testosterone to less than 10 nmol/L for 12 months reduces muscle mass but not to biologically female levels, and although mass is reduced, muscle strength can be maintained, especially if exercised concurrently. Estrogen therapy does not affect most of the anatomical structures in the biological male that provide physiological benefit. Hemoglobin levels are lowered by estrogen therapy, so maximum aerobic effort may be lower, but this parameter will only appear if testosterone levels are suppressed to levels within the female biological range and maintained for long periods of time. Reported studies show that it is difficult to consistently suppress testosterone in transgender women. Given that the percentage difference between medalists at the elite level is usually less than 1%, there must be confidence that the elite transgender athlete does not retain any residual advantage from previous exposure to testosterone, as the underlying advantage could be depending on Sports 10-30%. . Current scientific evidence cannot provide such guarantees and therefore, under committed provisions, the inclusion of trans women in the elite women's division must be reconsidered to do justice to natural born female athletes.

Women have fought for years for the right to box for other women. It was not until 1995 when the first woman filed a lawsuit historically for boxing in the New York Golden Gloves and a women's category was created. It wasn't until 2012 that women were finally given the right to box at the Olympics, and three women's weight divisions were added to the London 2012 Games. Hopefully, all the hard work put in by these brave women will not be undone.

Unfortunately, most female boxers cannot speak out because they fear retaliation and cancellation. They love the sport of boxing and do not want to miss the opportunity to achieve success after years of hard work and absolute sacrifice. The only way to advance as an amateur boxer is to fight and participate in tournaments. When you sign up for USA Boxing, you have to fight whoever you “draw” and are placed in a bracket similar to wrestling tournaments. If you refuse to fight a biological male in your weight class, you will not advance in the tournament. So for a woman who has trained all year to choose a tournament that attracts a biological male would be 1) withdrawing from the tournament and losing a chance at a title or a place in the Olympics or World Games or 2) risking her life and fighting the biological male.

There is no other choice.

The level of sacrifice it takes to compete in boxing is incredible, and the women who do it are nothing less than an inspiration and testaments to the power of courage. This reporter remembers the fear he had to overcome to get into the ring in front of a complicit crowd to hand-to-hand fight another woman whose goal was to knock you out.

I can't imagine the anxiety and dread a boxer would feel knowing her opponent was biologically male.

Here is the new USA policy on transgender people in boxing:

A boxer who transitions from male to female has the right to compete in the female category under the following conditions:

• The athlete declared her gender identity as female and completed sex reassignment surgery.
• For a minimum of four years after surgery, the athlete undergoes quarterly hormone tests and submits USA Boxing documentation of hormone levels.
• The athlete must demonstrate that her total serum testosterone level has been less than 5 nmol/L for at least 48 months prior to her first competition (with any longer being required to depend on a confidential case-by-case assessment, taking into account whether 48 months was enough time to reduce any advantage in female competition or not).
• The athlete's total testosterone level must remain below 5 nmol/L for the desired period of eligibility to compete in the female category. • Compliance with these terms will be monitored by conducting tests at the player's expense. In the event of non-compliance, the athlete's eligibility for women's competition will be suspended for 12 months. Your testosterone levels will then need to be retested.

Sources tell us that many USA Boxing athletes (both male and female), coaches and officials are unhappy with the new policy and may be considering a possible boycott of USA Boxing.

Unfortunately, this will likely not happen as USA Boxing is the only sanctioning body in the United States for amateur boxers and the only path to the Olympics.

Many of these young athletes come from poor backgrounds and boxing is their only chance for redemption or making a name for themselves.

Sadly, females will now be required to risk death in order to do so.

Here is USA Boxing's full policy on transgender athletes for 2024: October 22 USA Boxing's Transgender Policy

Pray for the brave women of American boxing!

And remember, in the end God wins.