A biological female boxer, Katia Bissonnette, withdrew from a Canadian championship match when she reportedly learned that her opponent in the bout was transgender, a man identifying as a woman, as reported by ABC News.
According to an outlet named Reduxx, Bissonnette opted out of the fight against Mya Walmsley, who is biologically male but has assumed the identity of a woman. She made this decision when she learned of Walmsley’s biological sex an hour prior to the 2023 Provincial Golden Glove Championship last month.
As per media reports, Canadian boxer Bissonnette explained, “My coach suddenly took me aside and told me he received information by text message, which he had then validated, that my opponent was not a woman by birth.”
Since she withdrew from the match, Walmsley won the match by default as officials were unable to find another boxer in the same weight class.
Bissonnette, hailing from Saguenay, referred to a 2020 strength study conducted by the University of Utah to support her choice of abstention.
She said, “According to a study, a male blow has 163% more impact than a woman’s, even adjusted for weight.”
According to the ABC report, she argued that biologically female athletes should not have to endure the “physical and psychological risks” brought on by an opponent’s decisions regarding “personal life” and “identity.”
However, her opponent Walmsley expressed displeasure with her withdrawal. In a statement, Walmsley wrote, “Rather than turning to me, my coach, or the Quebec Olympic Boxing Federation for more information, she decided to turn directly to the media to out me. This kind of behavior puts athletes at risk of being excluded or receiving personal attacks based on hearsay.”
As per Walmsley, there is a possibility that Bissonnette’s accusations could be used to delegitimise transgender female athletes and justify certain regulations. Walmsley further added that athletes should “trust” each other when it comes to gender identity.
Regarding her decision, Bissonnette reportedly claimed that the Australian athlete would not have been able to box in a women’s category at home. Bissonnette asserted, “(Walmsley) would have boxed as a man in Australia. In Quebec, on his [sic] file, it is mentioned that he [sic] had zero fights as a woman.”
Bissonnette stressed that categories in sports should be limited to one for biological males and another for biological females.
Several leaders across nationwide agreed with her as nine Republican governors urged the NCAA to reevaluate its transgender athlete inclusion policy in a letter last month.
The governors wrote, “The NCAA has the chance to guarantee an environment where female college athletes can thrive without the concern of inequities. We trust that you also want to guarantee just such an environment. But this policy allows the NCAA to avoid responsibility for ensuring the fairness of collegiate sports –therefore it must be changed.”
Taking to X, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem posted the letter saying, “Only girls should play in girls’ sports.” She also claimed that the current policy lets the NCAA avoid responsibility for ensuring collegiate sports are fair.
Woke insanity in Canadian sports
Notably, Canada allows trans athletes to compete in their chosen gender category without any sex transition. While some Western countries only allow transgenders in their chosen category only if they have gone through surgical and hormonal sex transitions, Canada is more woke in this regard and merely identifying as the opposite gender is enough. This has resulted in several controversies of men competing in the women’s category.
Earlier this year, Avi Silverberg – who was the head coach of the Canada Powerlifting Team for more than 10 years – identified himself as a female and participated in the Heroes Classic tournament in Lethbridge, creating a record. He smashed a record held by a transwoman lifter who was watching on. However, Avi Silverberg participated in the event in protest against the anti-woman policy in Canada that allows men to compete in women’s sports categories. His participation was deemed legal due to this policy.
The policy in Canada states that individuals should be able to participate in the gender with which they identify and not be subject to requirements for disclosure of personal information beyond those required of cisgender athletes. The policy also states that there should not be any requirement for hormonal therapy or surgery.