Crosstalk: March 10, 2016

Young people are being confronted with transgender issues in schools as these institutions are adopting policies that allow students to participate on sports teams with the gender that they wish to identify with. This issue then carries over into the locker rooms and showers. Not only does this issue affect high school and college students but Olympic athletes as well. Joining Jim to discuss this issue was Steve McConkey. Steve is president of 4 Winds Christian Athletics, a sports ministry that stands up for Christian athletes and encourages them to defend Christianity. The Summer Olympic games are just months away and it appears that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been considering new rules as it relates to the participation of transgender individuals. In fact, in 2003, 4 Winds began getting reports through the newspaper about transgender inclusion. Steve was the only person to publicly take a stand against this move. The IOC eventually put Steve through to their lawyer and the lawyer said nothing would come of this but Steve felt they were headed for trouble. As time moved along, Steve was proven correct. During 2003 the IOC required an athlete had to go through 2 years of hormone therapy and then get the necessary surgery. Just a month ago, the U.S. Olympic Committee and the IOC floated the idea of not having people go through the sex reassignment surgery. All they have to do is go through one year of hormone therapy. So why is this an issue? Aside from the obvious biblical/moral problems, further research has shown that men are normally 40% heavier than women, have 60% more lean muscle mass, 90% more upper body strength and 65% greater lower body strength. So if you give a man hormones, it may take up to 5 years to reverse what God created if he wants to compete as a female. Jim then presented a news account that proves how dangerous this trend is proving to be. The account revolves around Mixed Martial Arts fighter Tomikka Brents who fought a transgender named Fallon Fox. Brents, who admitted she's, '...an abnormally strong female...', also admitted, '...I've never felt so overpowered ever in my life...'. In their match, Brents sustained serious eye socket damage. Steve admits they may never see the IOC decision reversed but he indicated that 4 Winds Christian Athletics will stand up against the gay movement in sports and not back down. Jim and Steve move on to discuss changes taking place at the high school level, the significance of Romans 1 & 2 to this issue, the recent decision by South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard, the current move to close the door on the transgender movement in Texas and more.