Trans athlete debate sees women’s activist change audience’s minds on issue

Former U.S. gymnast and founder of the women’s activist sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics Jennifer Sey participated in a debate with pro-transgender activist Kevin Bolling, executive director of the Secular Student Alliance, over the topic of trans athletes in women’s sports on Wednesday. 

The debate was sponsored by the Steamboat Institute and took place at the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization. 

Based on pre- and post-debate data collected from the audience, Sey’s stance on opposing trans athletes in women’s sports appeared to be the winning argument.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

The pre-debate poll found that 85% of attendees disagreed with allowing trans athletes in women’s sports, while 9% did agree with it, and 6% were undecided. In the post-debate poll, the percentage of those who disagreed with trans inclusion jumped to 90%, while those who agreed with it dropped to 6%, and the undecided dropped to 3%. 

Sey’s case, which she repeated throughout the debate, was “based on reality.” 

Early on, Sey insisted that she did not want to use the term “biological woman” in the debate.

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Jennifer Sey with brand ambassadors Paula Scanlan, left, and Riley Gaines, right,

“I won’t use biological woman because it insists there is another type of woman. There is not. There is just a woman,” Sey said. “There’s been bullying in the culture around the language we can not use… I try to use terms that reflect biological reality.”

Sey also cited multiple statistics throughout the night, relating to natural physical qualities that often give males physical advantages over females, and a United Nations study finding that nearly 900 biological females have fallen short of victories because they have been defeated by transgender athletes.

The study, “Violence against women and girls in sports,” found more than 600 athletes did not medal in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports, totaling over 890 medals, according to information obtained up to March 30.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Jennifer Sey, a former senior executive at Levi Strauss & Co., clashed with executives over COVID lockdowns in 2020. She launched XX-XY Athletics in March 2020. (XX-XY Athletics)

Sey’s argument was also based on the belief that sports, especially at a high level, are not meant to be “inclusive” to any particular group, and that sports are fundamentally supposed to be “exclusive” for the sake of competitiveness. 

Meanwhile, Bolling’s argument against Sey was based on the premise of advancing transgender rights as a whole. 

During the debate, Bolling admitted that supporting trans inclusion in women’s sports, at the moment, was not a “popular” stance. He then compared the issue of trans inclusion to past civil rights movements, including women’s right to vote, racial segregation and even “ending slavery,” claiming that advocating for those issues was also not popular in the past. 

“Civil rights is not a popularity contest,” Bolling said. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.