Bob Costas: The IOC Ban of Trans Women is Common Sense

The International Olympic Committee’s decision to ban trans women from competition by having all athletes submit to a genetic test was announced yesterday. The decision got some unexpected support from Bob Costas who appeared on CNN saying, “common sense is not transphobic.”

NEWS: Bob Costas supports the IOC’s decision to ban trans athletes from women’s sports at the Olympics.

“Common sense is not transphobic…this policy is common sense.”

The host of 12 Olympic games told @CNNTheStoryIs that trans people should be treated with “dignity and… pic.twitter.com/ezou511QgL

— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) March 27, 2026

Riley Gaines appreciated the sentiment but wondered why Costas hasn’t said this a long time ago.

Cool, but couldn’t he have said this years ago? Like before men were awarded gold medals for punching women in the face at the Olympics in boxing? https://t.co/NqKgyHd1lc

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 27, 2026

Excellent – but would he have said this a year ago? Two years? Five years? https://t.co/ral60pkGPf

— Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro) March 27, 2026

It sure seems like he played it safe.

These people who come around years too late deserve zero credit.

Bob Costas knew it was insane and said nothing until it was safe. https://t.co/k3Qc0vHDhp

— Billboard Chris 🌎 (@BillboardChris) March 27, 2026

But others are pointing out that even this minimal amount of common sense isn’t that common among Democrats.

Every Democrat in the US Congress thinks Bob Costas is wrong here. I’d love to hear them explain why that is, exactly. https://t.co/lP7aKyiwEl

— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) March 27, 2026

As if proving her point, some are calling this hate speech.

Bob Costas believes that up and coming champions and record breakers who have worked to perfect their craft should now be excluded from the highest level of competition. Democrats have a responsibility to call out Costas for his hateful rhetoric. Trans rights are women’s rights. https://t.co/VcJe4Aq3Lc

— Sarah Jane Winfoot 🇭🇹 (@SJWinfoot) March 27, 2026

Others called it transphobia.

Truly incredible that this commentary is allowed on @CNN and Bob Costas presented as some sort of expert on the subject.

2 minutes of misogyny and transphobia.

Entire argument reliant on the premise that trans women are men and women are inherently inferior athletes. https://t.co/J3PRjKA1Q5

— Aidan Cleary (@aidancleary80) March 27, 2026

Others are taking different approaches to attack the IOC decision. For instance, someone named Kirsti Miller claimed young girls would have to have genital inspections because of this decision. As Jennifer Sey pointed out, that’s not remotely true.

Listen you weirdo.

This is not happening and will not happen anywhere. Ever. It didn’t happen pre-1999 when the IOC tested for sex, and it won’t happen now.

🤮 pic.twitter.com/9bIvRe1ULR

— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) March 27, 2026

Athletes can get a cheek swab or a blood test to verify their genetics as either male or female. No one is going to be inspecting anyone’s genitals.

Finally, yesterday when the decision was announced, J.K. Rowling reminded everyone where this all started, with Imane Khelif beating up a woman in the last Olympics.

Today’s ruling by the IOC means a welcome return to fair sport for women and girls, but I’ll never forget the scandal of Paris 2024, when people who consider themselves supremely virtuous and progressive publicly cheered on men punching women. pic.twitter.com/qmQCI2Mks5

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 26, 2026

That led to this response from a former Media Matters LGBTQ program director. This person identifies as a “misinformation investigator.”

The female boxer in the picture was never even a little bit transgender. We are living through a mass psychosis. https://t.co/eRYkaRDUN7

— Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) March 27, 2026

This is the same misleading lie people on the left have been using since the last Olympics about Imane Khelif. As I’ve explained before, it’s true that Khelif is not trans because he has lived as a woman his entire life as a result of what’s called a DSD. However, you may notice that Rowling never said Khelif was trans. She only said he was a man, which is true. Genetic testing, which he has now acknowledged, shows he has a Y chromosome. This is why he will not be allowed to compete as a woman in the LA Olympics.

Common sense is winning but the lefty liars are still out there trying to confuse people.

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