Bob Costas says IOC transgender policy ban is ‘common sense’ not transphobic

Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas praised the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) policy change this week banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, saying, “Common sense is not transphobic.”

Costas, the longtime voice of the Olympics, addressed the groundbreaking policy change during an appearance on CNN this week. Costas said that while some use the issue “for political purposes,” the IOC policy does not fall under that umbrella. 

Sportscaster Bob Costas on the field before a game between the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 22, 2018. (Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports)

“Common sense is not transphobic. There’s a reason why the high school champions don’t compete with the college champions. There is a reason why no trans man who was once a woman and has become a man has ever competed successfully with men in the Olympics.

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“If Caitlin Clark could play in the NBA, everybody would applaud it – that would be an incredible thing. But if the last guy on the bench of an NBA team went to the WNBA and started averaging 40 points, everyone would know that is BS.”

The IOC unveiled the policy Thursday, limiting female competition to biological females. Eligibility will be determined by SRY gene screening, also known as genetic testing.

“Based on scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the presence of the SRY gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced male sex development. Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods,” the IOC executive board said in a press release. 

The Olympic rings at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters.  ( LAURENT GILLIERON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

IOC ANNOUNCES NEW POLICY TO ENSURE ONLY FEMALES COMPETE IN WOMEN’S COMPETITIONS

Before the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, track and field, swimming and cycling had adopted policies that effectively prohibited trans athletes who had undergone male puberty from participating in female competition. The new policy ensures that it applies to all sports ahead of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

Costas said that while he believes some are “demonizing” trans athletes over the issue, the IOC policy addresses fair competition for female athletes.  

“There is a reason why there are men’s and women’s sports and why Title IX was one of the truly progressive pieces of legislation in the best sense of the word progressive under the Nixon administration. It changed everything.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks to volunteers, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.  (Daniele Mascolo/Pool Photo via AP)

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“It doesn’t make any sense to have a swimmer who was the 472nd-ranked swimmer when he was a man at Penn either winning or coming close to winning against women a year and a half after transitioning. If that’s what the person wants to do, that person should be treated with dignity and respect. But there ought to be common sense, and common sense is not transphobic.”

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