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Legendary sports broadcaster 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,” IOC 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 is a reason why high school champions don’t compete with college champions. There is a reason why no trans man who was once a woman and became a man has successfully competed with men in the Olympics.
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“If Caitlin Clark could play in the NBA, everyone would applaud her, that would be incredible. But if the last man on the bench of an NBA team went to the WNBA and started averaging 40 points, everyone would know that’s stupid.”
The IOC unveiled the policy on Thursday, limiting the women’s competition to biological women. Eligibility will be determined by screening for the SRY gene, 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 precise evidence that an athlete has undergone male sexual development. Furthermore, the IOC considers that the detection of the SRY gene through saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is not intrusive compared to other possible methods,” the IOC executive board said in a press release.
The Olympic rings at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). (LAURENT GILLIERON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
IOC ANNOUNCES NEW POLICY TO ENSURE THAT ONLY WOMEN COMPETE IN WOMEN’S COMPETITIONS
Ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, athletics, swimming and cycling had adopted policies that effectively banned trans athletes who had gone through male puberty from participating in women’s competitions. The new policy ensures it applies to all sports ahead of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Costas said that while she believes some are “demonizing” trans athletes over the issue, the IOC policy addresses fair competition for female athletes.
“There’s a reason why men’s and women’s sports exist and why Title IX was one of the truly progressive laws in the best sense of the word progressive under the Nixon administration. It changed everything.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks to volunteers ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Daniele Mascolo/Pool photo via AP)
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“It doesn’t make any sense for a swimmer who was ranked 472nd as a male at Penn to win or come 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 needs to be common sense, and common sense is not transphobic.”
