NFL legend Brian Urlacher claims he would ‘raise hell’ if his daughter was forced to play against biological men, as the Hall of Famer has come out with a strong stance in the transgender debate.
The longtime Chicago Bears’ linebacker has three children, 20-year-old Kennedy, who plays football for USC, as well as two daughters, Pamela, 24, and Riley, 20.
Urlacher’s stance comes amid the ongoing debate of biological males competing in women’s sports.
The matter has reached a fever pitch since Donald Trump’s reinsertion as American President, with him pushing for a ban and even signed an executive order entitled: ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’.
Transgender athletes’ rights have been a divisive issue for several years with swimmer Lia Thomas and volleyball star Blaire Fleming finding themselves at the heart of the fierce debate.
‘Why is it even a debate? A woman is a woman and a man is a man… you’re born with what you’re born with,’ Urlacher said on ‘Global View’. ‘It’s just different because we are men, there are certain things we do better than women, and it’s just, No 1, it’s not fair, and if I had a daughter who had to be forced to play against a man I would not be okay with it and I would raise hell about it.’
Urlacher claims he would ‘raise hell’ if his daughter was forced to play against biological men
Urlacher’s stance comes years after Lia Thomas (left) competed in women’s swimming
‘I just don’t get it, it’s a common sense thing, I just don’t see how you can push this and make someone thing they’re a different sex.’
Urlacher referenced Marissa Rothenberger in his comments, a transgender softball pitcher from Minnesota, with a lawsuit against the state’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison, filed in the matter.
Trump’s executive order led the NCAA to update its policy on transgender athletes in women’s sports, using birth certificates to determine an athlete’s gender.
The Trump administration is currently suing the state of Maine for not complying with his executive order, with no known action being taken against Minnesota.
Earlier this month on an episode of ‘Around The Horn’, panelist and former ESPN staffer Kate Fagan spoke out on the issue in favor of transgender athletes.
‘Trans kids deserve to play sports,’ Fagan said. ‘Think about what you remember from your time playing sports and 99 percent of it is: finding that jersey for the first time, your favorite number, community, joy, those high-fives.’
‘It’s that moment when you have a great play with a teammate, it’s the feeling of belonging and it does not know gender. Trans kids deserve that – the same as everybody else does.’
