Sports
Athlete Ally responds to Columbia U. wrestling team controversy
Athlete Ally founder feels sting of anti-gay remarks from Columbia University wrestlers
Hudson Taylor (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Hudson Taylor witnessed firsthand the homophobia that is pervasive in the culture of college sports during his years as an All-American wrestler at the University of Maryland. It was what compelled him to co-found Athlete Ally, a campaign to end homophobia and transphobia in sports, at the end of 2010 with his now-wife, Lia.
From 2010-2014, Taylor was a volunteer wresting coach at Columbia University, so when news broke on Nov. 10 that the school’s class of 2017 wrestling team were found to have used homophobic and racist slurs, making jokes about rape and mocking women’s appearances, Taylor returned to speak with the wrestlers he’d once coached.
WASHINGTON BLADE: The news about the Columbia wrestling team had to hit you pretty hard. What are you feeling?
HUDSON TAYLOR: I know these guys and I have coached them. For five years I worked with them to change this behavior and to address the resulting impact from using that kind of language. It made me very sad.
BLADE: In an article you wrote for the Columbia Spectator, you accepted some of the responsibility for the actions of the wrestlers. Why?
TAYLOR: It was me wanting them to know that their actions are affecting people from the coaching staff to the school to the sport itself. My apology was an attempt to show them that and to apologize for not doing more to develop them into young men of better character.
BLADE: The Columbia wrestling team also wrote a letter of apology that stated that a culture change is needed and that it will take place. How will that happen?
TAYLOR: There will be a thoughtful punishment for the people in question followed by a period of reconciliation that will be taken as an opportunity to create something to be proud of. I spoke to the team this past Monday and will continue to work with them in regards to what happened and how to move forward.
BLADE: You have said that maybe in the past you had been talking too much to the wrestlers and not enough with them. Were you aware of their biases?
TAYLOR: No, the attitudes existed in unseen places. I think it speaks to the point that people are getting better at being mindful about what they reveal publicly.
BLADE: The lewd messages that were sent by the wrestlers not only targeted the LGBT community, but also women and people of color. Will Athlete Ally be addressing those communities more in the future?
TAYLOR: You can’t really hope to end forms of discrimination of one type without addressing all of it. Athlete Ally will continue to target homophobia and transphobia in sports by investing in education and policy change. That being said, we are currently involved with the push to end the hijab ban on female players within the International Basketball Federation. It is not core to our work, but we have a responsibility.
BLADE: Athlete Ally’s investment in policy change and education is directed at professional and college sports. The evidence is there that prejudice and discrimination is being taught at early ages. Why not K-12 schools?
TAYLOR: Ultimately yes, attitudes and behaviors are being taught early on. We have targeted professional and college sports because the impact on them is scalable. K-12 is more segmented and there are over 30,000 high schools in the United States. We don’t have enough feet on the ground to make an impact. We do have ideas though and one is to engage the over 200,000 people playing in LGBT sports leagues to go back to their high schools to interact with the students.
BLADE: What else needs to be done going forward to encourage inclusive sports communities?
TAYLOR: We need to use this experience to understand and promote social justice values across all communities. Every incident is an opportunity for reformation. I also think that taking a look at ending gender segregation in school sports is worthwhile. I don’t know what that would look like, but the current situation is breeding bad behavior.
Sports
New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics
New regulation to be in effect at 2028 summer games in Los Angeles
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.
“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.
The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”
“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”
The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”
The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”
“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
(Video courtesy of the IOC)
Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, in 2021 became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics.
Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Khelif later sued JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberstalking after they questioned her gender identity.
Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, this year became the first openly trans athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics when he participated in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.
President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.
An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.
More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.
Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.
Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.
Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.
Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.
Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.
Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.
Sports
US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey
Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday
The U.S. women’s hockey team on Thursday won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime. The game took place a day after Team USA captain Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter — Knight’s teammates — are also LGBTQ. They are among the more than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes who are competing in the games.
The Olympics will end on Sunday.
Tenn. lawmakers pass transgender “watch list” bill
LGBTQ groups condemn Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence to take place April 10
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Vance speaks at Orbán rally in Hungary
How Pepper the courthouse dog helps victims of abuse
Iconic Eddie Izzard takes on 23 characters in ‘Hamlet’
Surviving spring cleaning
Risking it all for love during World War II
