NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas praised the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) policy change this week banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, saying: “Common sense is not transphobic.”
Costas, the longtime voice of the Olympics, addressed the groundbreaking policy change during an appearance on CNN this week. Costas said that while some use the issue “for political purposes”, the IOC’s policy does not fall under that umbrella.
Sportscaster Bob Costas on the field before a game between the Atlanta Braves and the Baltimore Orioles at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Georgia on June 22, 2018. (Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports)
“Common sense is not transphobic. There’s a reason the high school champions don’t compete with the college champions. There’s a reason no trans man who was once a woman and has become a man has ever successfully competed with men in the Olympics.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
“If Caitlin Clark could play in the NBA, everybody would applaud that—that would be an incredible thing. But if the last guy on the bench on an NBA team went to the WNBA and started averaging 40 points, everybody would know that’s BS.”
The IOC on Thursday unveiled the policy limiting female competition to biological women. Eligibility will be determined by SRY gene screening, also known as genetic testing.
“Based on scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the presence of the SRY gene is fixed throughout life and represents very accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced male sexual development. Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood test is unobtrusive compared to other possible methods,” says the IOC’s executive board in a press release.
The Olympic rings at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters. (LAURENT GILLIERON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
IOC ANNOUNCES NEW POLICY ENSURES ONLY WOMEN COMPETE IN WOMEN’S COMPETITIONS
Prior to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, athletics, swimming and cycling had adopted policies effectively banning trans athletes who had undergone male puberty from participating in female competition. The new policy ensures it applies to all sports ahead of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Costas said that while he believes some are “demonizing” trans athletes over the issue, the IOC’s policy addresses fair competition for female athletes.
“There’s a reason why there are men’s and women’s sports and why Title IX was one of the truly progressive laws in the best sense of the word, progressive during the Nixon administration. It changed everything.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks to volunteers ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Daniele Mascolo/Pool Photo via AP)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
“It makes no sense to have a swimmer who was the 472nd-ranked swimmer when he was a man at Penn who either won or came close to winning against women a year and a half after transitioning. If that’s what the person wants to do, they should be treated with dignity and respect. But there should be common sense, and common sense is not transphobic.”
