A male-to-female transgender fencer made headlines after she beat a 14-time world champion in the women’s division. People are furious, but what does it really entail?
A Winning Streak
Liz Kocab is a 71-year-old male-to-female transgender who plays fencing. Recently, she just won her eighth world championship.
Accusations of Cheating
However, before she could really celebrate her win, people from all over came to clap back against her medal.
For them, Kocab was an “entitled cheat!”
The Comeback
Women’s sports advocate and former competitive swimmer Riley Gaines was vocal in her comments that Kocab was nothing but an entitled cheater.
When Kocab was announced the champion at the Veteran Fencing World Championships, Gaines said, “Winning a title as a male in the women’s category doesn’t make you a champion. It makes you an entitled cheat.”
Outraged Thoughts
Gaines shared a video of Kocab, wherein she beat the 14-time champion Marja-Liisa Someroja of Finland. It was Kocab’s fourth consecutive win after she took the 2018, 2019, and 2022 titles.
There were no competitions for two years during the pandemic. But still, Gaines can’t help but wonder what allows Kocab to keep winning.
Controversial Headlines
The former competitive swimmer rallied people’s thoughts through one of her tweets.
She wrote, “Liz Kocab, male, wins his 8th Fencing World Championship title—in the women’s category.”
Abundant Reactions
Since she posted her tweet last October 16, 2023, it has gained over 11,000 likes, 2,000-plus reposts, and more than 700 replies.
Another Take
Marshi Smith, co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, seems to have the same views on the issue as Gaines.
Twitter Attacks
In one of her tweets, she directly addressed the Olympics and Fédération Internationale d’Escrime (FIE), the governing body of Olympic fencing.
She said, “This man will retire as one of the greatest women’s fencers of all time because @FIE_fencing and @Olympics made female fencing a joke.”
A Victim’s Say?
Kocab, who has faced a multitude of criticism, opened up and said that she had almost left the sport. However, she made up her mind to return to the competition this year to “support USA Fencing.”
An Athlete’s Heart
The athlete made sure she left her stance on the issue.
“I wanted to support USA Fencing, I really did. Otherwise, I was actually thinking of stepping away. But the fact that it was in America, I thought that it was important to support the USA. This is my way of saying thanks to USA Fencing,” said Kocab.
Not Over
However, though Kocab has already beaten the 14-time champion, the journey has not yet come to a close. She’s still set to advance to the team event, where she’ll again try to win another gold.
Another Point of View
In line with recent events, Fencing USA, the sport’s official organization, has also announced its support for nonbinary and transgender athletes. For them, this decision is “both a moral and ethical imperative.”
A new policy regarding this stance was revealed in November 2022. Fencing USA’s CEO, Phil Andrews, said, “It is critical that we protect the rights of nonbinary and transgender athletes in fencing.”
Unclear Starting Point
Though it was never revealed when Kocab transitioned, it doesn’t change the fact that Fencing USA has acknowledged her identity, skills, and persistence.
Andrews also said, “Even as we plan to conduct more scientific research into the physiological effects of gender transition as they pertain specifically to the sport of fencing, we remain unanimously and steadfastly supportive of transgender athletes having their place in fencing. To be clear, even as this issue evolves, our support of transgender athletes will not waver.”
Redditors’ Reactions
Most users think everything about transgenders in sports is complete insanity.
A user wrote, “Transgendered—you can’t hear the scorn in my tone, but it’s there. What a ridiculous society. That is not really a thing. Transgendered means someone who pretends to be a gender other than what they really are. The realm of sports just drives home the idiocy of it a little more poignantly.”
“Must be a mixture of intense feelings for the women who must walk up and stand there on that podium at the same time,” said another.
While it is true that society is becoming more and more accepting of transgender people, comments like the ones above show us that there’s still a long way to go. But thanks to Kocab and people from USA Fencing, FIE, and the Olympics, more and more people are heard and acknowledged!
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This post first appeared as “Winning a Title as a Male in the Women’s Category Doesn’t Make You a Champion!”: People Clap Back as a Transgender Woman Beats a 14-Time Champion in the Women’s Division! on Quote Ambition.
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