Tears welled in the eyes of Linzi Smith as she explained why she can no longer attend Premier League soccer games at the stadium 10 minutes from her home to root for Newcastle United. “I get upset when I talk about it," she told Toby Young of the Free Speech Union in a recent interview. "I just don’t understand where it’s come from. I don’t know why someone’s gotten so offended by me just speaking my mind.”
It seems like half the world needs a basic remedial biology education. What defines whether or not you are a man or a woman are your chromosomes. Two X chromosomes produce a female and an X and a Y produce a male. Speaking objective truth shouldn't be considered "hate speech". No amount of surgery or gender identification can turn you from a man into a woman or vice versa. Perhaps one day we will have that technology but we do not have it today.
This has a particular importance when it comes to sports. Men and women (again, speaking from a factual biological point of few) tend to have different physical characteristics. For instance, men are bigger and stronger (on average). This is the primary reason that there are often separate leagues for men and women. However, just because you change your gender identification doesn't change your physical characteristics. Even things like hormone treatments and surgery don't necessarily do enough to remove the natural advantages men have over women (again, on average) in many sports. To allow men that identify as women to complete in women's sports leagues negates the primary purpose of having the separation in the first place.
All of this is a bit beside the point though. A sports league shouldn't be able to essentially accuse, try and summarily convict someone of any sort of crime. Not to mention the fact that expressing a fact shouldn't be considered a crime in any circumstance. Even if what was expressed was considered "hateful" or "misinformation" or whatever, should we no longer have the concept of free speech? Hate speech or unpopular speech IS free speech. Popular speech needs no protection.
