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WaPo Poll: Americans Don’t Want Trans Athletes In Girls’ Sports

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Dylan Housman Deputy News Editor
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A new Washington Post poll found that a majority of Americans oppose allowing biological males who identify as women to compete in women’s athletics.

Less than one-third of Americans think transgender women should be allowed to compete in women’s sports, with support declining at higher levels of competition. A majority say transgender women shouldn’t be able to compete in women’s sports at the professional, collegiate and high school levels, according to the Washington Post and University of Maryland poll.

Support for transgender athletes is highest at the youth level, where 33% of respondents said biological boys who identify as girls should be allowed to play with girls, and 49% said they shouldn’t. Support for biological women was highest at the professional level — just 28% said biological men should be able to compete in women’s professional sports, and 58% said they shouldn’t.

The poll was conducted between May 4-17 and surveyed 1,503 American adults. The margin of error was three points. (RELATED: The Carolina Panthers Hire NFL’s First Trans Cheerleader)

Sixty-eight percent of Americans agreed with the proven science that transgender women who were born male have a physical advantage in youth sports over biological girls.

The attitudes about sport did not reflect a disapproval of transgender people overall. Only 25% of Americans said that increased acceptance of transgender people was a somewhat or very bad thing for society, according to the poll, compared to 41% who said it was somewhat or very good.

Support for transgender athletes was significantly higher among Americans who had a transgender family member or friend. Among that cohort, a majority supported allowing biological men to compete against women below the professional level.