Stephen A's Take: When it comes sports, I agree with Trump’s Transgender policy.

Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
I'm gonna get back to President Trump because a new
executive order he's expected to sign that would ban transgender
athletes from competing in women's sports. That's the subject matter here.
Sources say. The order is titled quote keeping Men out
of Women's Sports end quote. That order will establish sweeping
mandates on sex in sports policy and will direct and

(00:24):
will direct federal agencies like the Department of Justice to
interpret federal Title nine rules. According to a White House
document obtained by ABC News, the order would prohibit the
participation of transgender girls and women in females sports categories.
Sources say the executive order would also mandate immediate enforcement

(00:44):
against schools and athletic associations that quote deny women's single
sex sports and single sex locker rooms. According to the document,
the order will also direct state's attorneys to identify best
practices for enforcing the mandate. You may recall. On this day,
back in office, Trump signed an executive order asserting the
federal government recognizes only two sexes, male and female, and

(01:08):
that quote these sexes are not changeable and are grounded
and fundamental and incontrovertible reality end quote. President Trump is
expected to sign or order on transgender athletes today or
it was expected to sign it today at a ceremony
featuring athletes, coaches, and advocates who've campaigned against transgender participation

(01:29):
in women's sports. Source to say more than sixty attendees
who joined the ceremony. Let's get a couple of things
out of the way first. First of all, although they're
a member of the LGBTQ plus community, the reality is,
when you're talking about some of these cases, there's a
handful of these cases existing in the United States. When
you talk about transgender individuals, there's an argument. I don't

(01:54):
know the specific number in this, but there's an argument
that doesn't even make a one percent of the population.
Why do I bring that up. I bring that up
for several reasons. Number one, to state the record straight.
Regardless of how anybody feels, I agree with the president's
decision on this one, I'm not apologizing for that to anybody.

(02:16):
I support the LGBTQ plus community. I told y'all, I'm
conservative about a lot of things. I'm liberal about a
lot of things. It's one of the things that I'm
liberal by on my mind, live and let live. I
ain't got no problem with that. Here's what I got
a problem with for years, when we're talking about Title
nine and we're talking about equity, gender equity, and we're

(02:36):
talking about the women being treated on the same level
as men. What was embedded in our brains was being
protective of females, protective of their rights, similar to how
we are with men. But then the transgender issue came
into play, and then all of a sudden, we forgot

(02:56):
about that. If I recall correctly, Leah Thomas, the swimmer
at the University of Pennsylvania. Born a male participating in swimming,
she was ranked about three hundred and fifty to four
hundred in the world. She transitioned to a woman, she
number one. That's an accident. Really. Now, there was another

(03:25):
case involving San Jose State and the volleyball team, and
there wasn't even that, there wasn't even a bunch of
protesters out or anything like that, but they had to
forfeit like six games because people refused to play with
them because there was rumors of a transgender athlete on
their squad. And we're talking volleyball here, and I get that.
I remember one time Dave Chappelle said this joke. It's

(03:47):
Dave Chappelle. Now it's mean, it's not me, it's him.
He said all of this argument about transgender not having
any kind of effect whatsoever, and he was basically alluding
to wanting to shut people up. He said, I would
love if one day Lebron James woke up and said,
I'm transgender. I want to be you know, I believe

(04:10):
I'm a female. He says, so he could average eight
hundred points a game in a WNBA. That was Dave
Chappelle's joke. That's not mine. Well, on the point, to
make this very very important, why don't we ever hear
about someone being born female transitioning the male to play

(04:31):
one of the male dominated sports. You know what I'm saying.
We never hear that. Why not? I'm just asking, I mean,
inquiring minds want to know what am I missing? My
point is, where's the same noise about protecting ladies. That's

(04:56):
my issue with this. If you are a male and
you are transitioning to a female, that is your business.
I completely support that you're an adult. I completely support
that you do what you have to do, But what
does that have to do with you having the right
to compete with females who were born female in their
respective sport. See it hits me because and I've often

(05:22):
said this to a lot of people. I've said this
to black folks. I've said this to folks whether you're heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transit,
I don't care. You know what I've said oftentimes, when
you're talking about civil rights and civil liberties for every
human being out here, that is a fight worth fighting for.

(05:43):
I will fight on behalving the LGBTQ plus community any
day of the week, just as much as I fight
for the black community, just as much as I fight
for the heterosexual community. I don't care. Right is right
when it comes to your civil liberties. You know what
you don't have the right to do insist that everybody
likes you. It's just that everybody likes and its receptive

(06:06):
to what you want them to be receptive to. There
are plenty of issues that are going on in this
country where we see a particular issue. You know what
we say to one another, fine, live your life, just
don't throw it in my face, whatever that may be.
I remember one time when Michael sam was being affectionate

(06:26):
with somebody. I was like, get a room. But I
said that the two heterosexual couples too. In other words,
live your life. Fine, but people got a right to
want to see what they want to see, and don't
want to see what they don't want to see. Who cares?
But with something like this, let me be very very clear.

(06:48):
You're competing in sports. There can be no unfair advantage.
I can simplify for you. Do you know what else
I'm against in sports? Weed? I happen to think that
that's a performance and answer now, y'all said Stephen, Ay,
come on, Steven, that you tripped. Come on, Stephen, that

(07:09):
you tripping. Wait a minute. Competing in sports involves nerves.
Some people get nervous, They get jitterery clock, two minutes
left in the game, championship on the line, The ball
is in your hands, and suddenly it's a little bit slippery.
Suddenly you panic it, Suddenly you shifted. You don't have
the poison and control that you're accustomed to having early

(07:30):
in the game, when the pressure doesn't exist, But when
it gets thick, all of a sudden, your ass get nervous.
But if you're smoking weed, your nerves aren't as rattled.
All of a sudden, there's a calm that kicks in,
and the kind of stuff that phases people normally suddenly

(07:52):
might not phase you. If that is the effect that
some that it has on some Pece people by virtual
smoking weed, that is an advantage. That is an advantage.
Anything is my point, that gives you any kind of

(08:13):
an advantage, whether it's we with what I just brought up,
whether it's how you were born as a male as
you transition to being a female, it's not just about you,
it's about the detrimental effect it has on your competition.
If you were born a male, conceivably genetically, you are

(08:34):
believed to have a level of strength that the other
side may not have. That's an advantage. That's not speaking
against anybody from that community. That's not casting this versus
on anybody. It's literally an unfair advantage. If you were

(08:56):
born a male and you're transitioning into being a feem
physically speaking, the fact show you have an unfair advantage.
That's unfair to the ladies who are born ladies. It's
not fair. That's all I'm saying. Nothing more than that.

(09:21):
Anything else Trump or anybody else tries to throw into
the equation We're not going for that. We're not gonna
cast dispersions, we're not gonna disrespect, we're not gonna engage
in demagoguery. We're not doing that, not on this show.
I'm only talking about from a sports perspective. You being
a male and transitioning to being a female and participating

(09:45):
in female sports, you have a decidedly unfair advantage. That's
all I'm saying. That is why I have no problem
with this decision by Truck by President Trump. Transgender athletes

(10:05):
should compete against transgend athletes, males should compete against male
females should be compete against females. For simple That's where
I stand with it. That's all I'm saying. M m
hmmm