About a year ago, what would have been US Masters swimmer Angie Griffin’s first individual National Championship was given to a male, Hugo “Hannah/Ana” Caldas, who has been misrepresenting himself as a woman and stealing women’s opportunities and awards in swimming, rowing, crossfit, and the now-defunct Grid League weightlifting competition over a 16-year period.
As someone who has 40 years experience in coaching women runners and organizing women's only races (oow retired) I am disgusted with the utter insanity that has been going on for some years in sport. WTF is wrong with the men and women supporting this nonsense.
I know many coaches who agree with you completely. Probably the vast majority do. But if you were still working in, say, California or Minnesota or Washington, if you voiced that position or acted on it, you'd lose your job. Laws were passed very very quietly more than a decade ago couched in vague terms that sounded like you just couldn't discriminate against people because of their gender identity. Of course, everyone agrees with that. NO ONE realized, not one single voter voted for men in women's sports. It's deception by language. And the media was utterly complicit, and now a coach who stands up for girls' right to single-sex sports in some states will find himself out of a job. Much much more dangerous than mere insanity
Maybe they will keep kicking the hearing down the road because it would only --embarrass them further. People with the wind against them tend to panic and act irrationally.
Sarah thank you so much for highlighting what is happening with USMS and sports boards around the country. The amount of deceit is flabbergasting. Here is what needs to happen to make sure ALL sports boards get the message sent clearly by the IOC.
USMS needs to have it's non profit status withdrawn and fully dissolved. It's structure cannot be resuscitated. The Board members, and anyone on that "tribunal committee" need to receive a lifetime ban on holding any leadership position in any sport. If they also compete, they are banned. A new organization can be formed but not with any of the existing structure. Additionally those Board members should be open to civil lawsuits without Board member insurance protection. They did not act in "good faith" thus the insurance is not in effect.
If that was to happen, other sports boards would think twice about trying to screw women.
It sounds like WA may have stepped in and perhaps Angie will never have to sit in kangaroo court. But it will be interesting to see what punishment these Board members receive by WA. Probably not enough.
My understanding, and this is from the State of Swimming article I linked to, is that World Aquatics is merely applying indirect pressure to USMS, in that, if USMS was to refuse to honor WA's ban of Caldas, and continue to allow him to swim in USMS events, USMS could lose their affiliation with WA, and thus their national regulatory status. I don't know that WA or the Aquatics Integrity Unit has directly reprimanded USMS or threatened any action against them
Shame on the USMS. How do they sleep at night? Puts to mind what attorney Joseph Welch said to Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954, "Have you no sense of decency?"
Trans Identifying Men are a two-headed poisonous snake. Here's why
Biden opened the door for these demonic mean to be in women's spaces and sports. tRUMP hates women so both party's are supporting the harm and erasure of Women=Adult +Femal+Human‼️
How can I reach Angie? I want to share what I went through with USMS, obnoxious anti-semitism, then the gas lighting. Tell her I stand with her and happy to help.
Thanks for covering this so thoroughly. This is a devastating line: "USMS emphasizes participation—just for fun :) — over competition to justify inclusion of males in women’s events, but of course, they treat the ability of men to choose the category in which they participate as a matter of life and death."
The moment a man says he isn’t, a red flag is raised, safeguarding and fairness to women & girls is threatened, and culture is sabotaged. Adults and reality must return to overseeing sport as well as all single-sex spaces so that fraud & cheating are eliminated. Thank goodness for women like Angie who are exposing the swinging dicks and rising above them.
Can Angie hire a lawyer? A lawyer can do discovery that may help with proving that he has faked up the documents about his birth sex and previous competitions as in a male.
It is neither hostility nor disrespect to acknowledge a man who identifies as a female remains a man. No one can change their biological sex.
As someone who has 40 years experience in coaching women runners and organizing women's only races (oow retired) I am disgusted with the utter insanity that has been going on for some years in sport. WTF is wrong with the men and women supporting this nonsense.
I know many coaches who agree with you completely. Probably the vast majority do. But if you were still working in, say, California or Minnesota or Washington, if you voiced that position or acted on it, you'd lose your job. Laws were passed very very quietly more than a decade ago couched in vague terms that sounded like you just couldn't discriminate against people because of their gender identity. Of course, everyone agrees with that. NO ONE realized, not one single voter voted for men in women's sports. It's deception by language. And the media was utterly complicit, and now a coach who stands up for girls' right to single-sex sports in some states will find himself out of a job. Much much more dangerous than mere insanity
Maybe they will keep kicking the hearing down the road because it would only --embarrass them further. People with the wind against them tend to panic and act irrationally.
Agree
She's the real champion. 🏆
Sarah thank you so much for highlighting what is happening with USMS and sports boards around the country. The amount of deceit is flabbergasting. Here is what needs to happen to make sure ALL sports boards get the message sent clearly by the IOC.
USMS needs to have it's non profit status withdrawn and fully dissolved. It's structure cannot be resuscitated. The Board members, and anyone on that "tribunal committee" need to receive a lifetime ban on holding any leadership position in any sport. If they also compete, they are banned. A new organization can be formed but not with any of the existing structure. Additionally those Board members should be open to civil lawsuits without Board member insurance protection. They did not act in "good faith" thus the insurance is not in effect.
If that was to happen, other sports boards would think twice about trying to screw women.
It sounds like WA may have stepped in and perhaps Angie will never have to sit in kangaroo court. But it will be interesting to see what punishment these Board members receive by WA. Probably not enough.
My understanding, and this is from the State of Swimming article I linked to, is that World Aquatics is merely applying indirect pressure to USMS, in that, if USMS was to refuse to honor WA's ban of Caldas, and continue to allow him to swim in USMS events, USMS could lose their affiliation with WA, and thus their national regulatory status. I don't know that WA or the Aquatics Integrity Unit has directly reprimanded USMS or threatened any action against them
Shame on the USMS. How do they sleep at night? Puts to mind what attorney Joseph Welch said to Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954, "Have you no sense of decency?"
Trans Identifying Men are a two-headed poisonous snake. Here's why
Biden opened the door for these demonic mean to be in women's spaces and sports. tRUMP hates women so both party's are supporting the harm and erasure of Women=Adult +Femal+Human‼️
Stop it with the Trump hatred. He has nothing to do with this. This is TOTALLY a function of left wing Democratic Party policies and politics.
The truth hurts.
tRUMP is out starting unprovoked wars and screwing up the United States of America.
Yes if your tRUMP didn't hate females so much he would've outlawed men in women's spaces‼️
Standing up for women is not a hate crime. It’s a civil rights issue.
Sarah,
How can I reach Angie? I want to share what I went through with USMS, obnoxious anti-semitism, then the gas lighting. Tell her I stand with her and happy to help.
Thanks for covering this so thoroughly. This is a devastating line: "USMS emphasizes participation—just for fun :) — over competition to justify inclusion of males in women’s events, but of course, they treat the ability of men to choose the category in which they participate as a matter of life and death."
The moment a man says he isn’t, a red flag is raised, safeguarding and fairness to women & girls is threatened, and culture is sabotaged. Adults and reality must return to overseeing sport as well as all single-sex spaces so that fraud & cheating are eliminated. Thank goodness for women like Angie who are exposing the swinging dicks and rising above them.
Can Angie hire a lawyer? A lawyer can do discovery that may help with proving that he has faked up the documents about his birth sex and previous competitions as in a male.