The American people have (once again) spoken, and they overwhelmingly agree with Sophie Cunningham.
According to an analysis from the Pew Research Center, 73 percent of American adults- Republicans and Democrats – were uncomfortable with “transgender athletes competing on sports teams that don’t match their sex at birth.”
While conservatives remained the strongest opposed to allowing males in women’s sports (91 percent), even a majority of progressives (55 percent) opposed it.
Only 27 percent of respondents described themselves as being “very comfortable” with males in women’s sports (13 percent), while 14 percent said they were “somewhat comfortable” with the idea.
The numbers were equally dramatic when looking at the sexes: 77 percent of men were uncomfortable with trans inclusion, and 69 percent of women were.
“Every racial group surveyed came up with similar results, with 75% of white people, 67% of Hispanics, 68% of black people, and 68% of Asian people uncomfortable about trans athletes,” the New York Post reports.
One of the groups most strongly opposed to trans inclusion was those 65 and older, with a whopping 80 percent giving trans athletes the thumbs down. But pro-trans activists shouldn’t take too much solace in that. Sixty percent of young people aged 18-29 still oppose allowing men in women’s sports.
The issue of transgender athletes in women’s sports has risen to the fore again in recent weeks, after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham told ESPN she believes men should be kept out of women’s sports to ensure a fair and level playing field.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham told ESPN. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”