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Ex-ESPN broadcaster talks trans athletes in women’s sports

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Former ESPN star Jeannine Edwards made her stance on transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports clear in an interview on Tuesday.

Edwards appeared on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” and said she couldn’t believe there was a debate about the issue in sports.

Jeannine Edwards in 2011

ESPN announcer Jeannine Edwards on the sidelines of a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Nov. 12, 2011. (Beth Hall-USA Today Sports)

“I cannot believe that we have even gotten to this point,” Edwards said. “I mean 50 years of Title IX and all those decades of working up to that and getting to that point where women could have equal access, equal opportunity, equal benefits, but they need to be in their own niche. Because let’s face it, men have 60% more muscle mass, they’ve got a heck of a lot more bone density and bone mass, larger lung capacity, larger oxygen consumption capacity. It doesn’t matter whether you are taking hormones or not. 

“It doesn’t matter whether you say you identify as a female, I’m sorry your physiology of your body as a man is much different than that of the body of a woman. So, to me, this a no-brainer and I don’t understand why some people on the left think that is a cause that is going to be a winner for them just as I don’t believe that this immigration issue and deporting these criminal aliens, I don’t think that’s a winning issue for them either.”

ILLINOIS TRANS ATHLETE POLICY BREWING CONFLICT WITHIN STATE

Jeannine Edwards in 2013

CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, left, and ESPN reporters Dick Vitale and Jeannine Edwards have a photo taken before the semifinal games at the NCAA men’s Final Four in Atlanta, April 6, 2013. ( Sean Dougherty-USA Today)

The New Jersey native was an ESPN and ABC Sports broadcaster from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s.

A New York Times/Ipsos Survey released in January showed that the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don’t think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women’s sports.

Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.

Jeannine Edwards in 2013

Jeannine Edwards and Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer pose before the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico race course in Baltimore, May 18, 2013. (Winslow Townson-USA Today Sports)

Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democratic, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women. Among 1,022 Republicans, that number was 94%.

Fox News’ Ryan Canfield and Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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