An LGBTQ reporter awarded a transgender female MMA competitor named Fallon Fox with the title of "bravest athlete in history" after repeatedly defeating biological female MMA fighters.
Cyd Zeigler, a reporter for the LGBTQ media outlet Outsports may have confused the meaning of the words "strong" and "brave."
In January, Zeigler praised transgender woman and MMA competitor Fallon Fox for being the "bravest athlete in history" after winning several fights with female MMA fighters who were on the receiving end of Fox's "life-altering blows." It's worth noting that transgender women are biological men - born males but identifying as females.
According to The Blaze, the 44-year old, who was biologically born a male and is the first openly transgender athlete in MMA history, was not only inducted in the LGBT Sports Hall of Fame but also contributed to "conversations" and "opened possibilities for trans athletes in women's sports."
Fox came out in 2013 after winning his first two fights, as per CNN. Fox claimed at the time that there were "no unfair competitive advantages," but nonetheless received criticism for failing to disclose the fact that he had a sex change operation until after the fight.
His opponent at the time was Ericka Newsome, who was on the receiving end of his "life-altering blows" and was knocked out when Fox brought a knee to the opponent's chin just 39 seconds into the fight, "without anyone knowing of Fox's background."
Newsome further stated that the fact that she wasn't informed ahead of time that she was going to fight against a transgender woman athlete, and added that she would be "able to be better prepared for the situation" had she been told earlier.
Newsome is only one of the several female MMA fighters Fox has met in the ring. Later in 2014, Fox also fought Tamikka Brents, who got a concussion and broke seven orbital bones after being on the receiving end of Fox's "life-altering blows" during the three-minute fight, Disrn reported.
Brents told #WhoATV that she had fought several women in his MMA career but had never felt "strength that I felt in a fight as I did that night." She added that while she was unsure as to whether it was Fox being a transgender woman, she said that she had "never felt so overpowered ever in my life," citing that Fox's clinch rendered her unable to move, unlike the clinch of her other female opponents.
Zeigler was quick to defend the transgender woman, saying that such injuries and "life-altering blows" are not uncommon in the MMA sport. As "the bravest athlete in history," Fox maintains that his departure from MMA after his last fight in 2014 was not because of transphobic reactions from fellow athletes or audiences, but rather because of his injuries.
Fox credits his team for supporting him and for being "understanding" of his situation. Fox said, "They recognized my endurance, my strength, my ability to cut weight in the same category as cisgender women. There was no idea in their minds that I didn't belong. They weren't thinking, 'Oh my God, she's going to kill somebody.'"
Nevertheless, Fox's track record, particularly Newsome's early knockout and Brents' injuries, as well as the fact that he is a transgender woman athlete, can be expected to cause a lot of concern, especially among biological females in sports - and no amount of praise from pro-LGBTQ reporters can change that.
Biden's executive order forcing biological females to compete with biological males in sports has caused a lot of stir and elicited a lot of backlash in recent weeks, showing that there's massive resistance against it.
