‘IT’S NOT FAIR:' Bears legend Brian Urlacher weighs in on trans athletes in women's sports
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Former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher shared his stance on the issue of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer appeared on the Global View podcast earlier this month and admitted that the issue “drives (him) crazy.”
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‘IT’S NOT FAIR:' Bears legend Brian Urlacher weighs in on trans athletes in women's sports Back to video
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“Why is it even a debate?” he asked rhetorically.
“A woman is a woman and a man is a man… you’re born with what you’re born with.”
Nevertheless, the issue has been hotly debated around the world as women and girls are getting increasingly trounced in their respective sports by people who were born male.
Urlacher, the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2000 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, referenced an ongoing controversy in Minnesota, where a transgender pitcher is currently dominating a girls’ softball season.
The transgender athlete won a reported 14 straight games heading into the playoffs and earned first-team all-state honours.
“It’s just different because we are men, there are certain things we do better than women,” Urlacher ranted.
“Number one, it’s not fair, and if I had a daughter who had to be forced to play against a man I would not be OK with it and I would definitely raise hell about it.”
He continued: “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 think they’re a different sex.”
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Another former NFL star, Donald Driver, joined in the ever-growing debate about transgender athletes in sports.
Driver, who won his one and only Super Bowl ring with the Green Bay Packers in 2011, said that transgender athletes shouldn’t be allowed to compete in female sports and that they should “compete in the sport that God made you in.”
Urlacher has been open about his support of President Donald Trump, calling him a “machine” and praising him for his Feb. 5 signing of an executive order that keeps those born male out of women’s sports.
However, several states have defied Trump’s ban, leading to ongoing anger over the subject.
“I have a daughter who was a tomboy,” Urlacher said. “We never thought about making her a boy.”
He added: “She was a tomboy, now she’s a woman.”
Urlacher retired in 2012 after a 12-year career with the Bears.
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