ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith left no room for ambiguity on the transgender athlete debate, telling a national television audience that biological males have no business competing in women’s sports.
“Biological men should not be competing against biological girls in sports, period,” Smith said during the March 27 episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” according to the New York Post (NYP). “What about protecting the young ladies? Young ladies going up against biological men — biological men — there is no excuse for that.”
Smith pointed to former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas as his chief example, the NYP reported. “Lia Thomas, for example, was a male, and he was ranked over 400th in the world. … And then he became a she. … And No. 1. Well … does it really take an Einstein to realize that there’s something wrong with that picture?” (RELATED: Yay! Finally’: Caitlyn Jenner Bursts With Joy At Olympics’ Decision To Block Men From Women’s Sports)
Maher had asked Smith whether the transgender athlete controversy would become a political liability for Democrats, the Gateway Pundit reported. Smith did not hesitate. “That’s their own damn problem,” he fired back. Maher’s liberal studio audience broke into applause.
Stephen A. Smith sounds off on Olympic trans ban, says ‘no excuse’ for biological men to compete with women https://t.co/uicAhtauCS pic.twitter.com/NSGcaAvZFo
— New York Post (@nypost) March 29, 2026
The exchange came days after the International Olympic Committee announced it will require all female-category athletes to undergo SRY gene screening ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. IOC President Kirsty Coventry said it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. The White House credited President Donald Trump for the decision, Time reported.
Smith has held this position for over a year. During a February 2025 Radio Row appearance ahead of the Super Bowl, he said he supports LGBTQ rights but views transgender athletes in women’s sports as an entirely separate issue. He called it “prying on the rights of females.”
Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order in early 2025, which required federal agencies to apply Title IX according to an athlete’s sex assigned at birth, the NYP reported. The NCAA changed its policy to comply.
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