Martial Arts Association alters rules following female athletes’ withdrawal, awarding men’s championship.
Only in 2023
On Oct. 21, at the Cobb Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia, the North American Grappling Association held its Georgia Grappling & BJJ Championship, a mixed martial arts tournament. The men’s welterweight submission grappling division, as you would obviously expect, given the name of it, was dominated by men.
The women’s welterweight submission grappling division, as you might not expect — unless you’re thoroughly versed in woke — was also dominated by men.
According to the website Reduxx — which bills itself as a “pro-woman,” “pro-child,” and “anti-bullsh*t” — actual women declined to compete in the event after two men entered the category.
What’s more, Reduxx reported Friday, none of the women were told beforehand that they would be facing men “identifying” as women and going by the names of Cordelia Gregory or Corissa Griffith.
“The issue first received widespread attention in September after it was learned that a female Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete had not been informed she would be competing against a male,” Reduxx reported. “Taelor Moore posted a clip of her fight against James ‘Alice’ McPike on her Instagram, noting that there was a 65lbs weight difference between them.”
Seems like a fair fight, no?
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When that farce of a bout hit the media, the sanctioning body issued a statement saying that it “does not require biological women to compete against transgender women. Instead, we give the choice to the biological women and if they decline, they compete in a division only with other biological women.”
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“For those who chose not to compete with the transgender female, we will inquire if they have an interest in entering a separate division which includes the transgender female,” the rules read. “This additional division will be offered at no cost to those competitors. However, if individuals decline this opportunity, the transgender female will be directed to compete with the males in their respective weight and skill level category.”
However, NAGA martial artists Jayden Alexander and Ansleigh Wilk told Reduxx they had continued to be slated against male competitors without prior notice. Both women were paired against Cordelia Gregory, a man claiming to be a woman.
“I honestly never thought this would actually happen in a contact sport, especially not MY contact sport,” Alexander, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt. “When I saw him, I was so shocked I didn’t know how to respond.”
“I realized very quickly I couldn’t muscle them like most girls,” Wilk, who is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt and coach, added. “Well obviously, because it wasn’t a girl! Then not long after, I had to do a second match of which Cordelia threw a tantrum saying [he] ‘didn’t tap [out].’ I was sincerely scared [he] was going to punch me when I stuck my hand out to shake [his].”
In this case, the women all pulled out, leaving a two-person podium in the “women’s” welterweight division — Gregory and Griffith. Griffith was the more successful of the two at the tournament, picking up four golds in women’s categories, according to the official results.
One source told Reduxx that, in some women’s categories, there were more men competing than women.
Breaking: Jiu Jitsu Tournament Features All-Male Women’s Podiums in Georgia
Female fighters speak out for the first time…https://t.co/Vg9mzRDRsC
— ICONS (@icons_women) October 27, 2023
As Marshi Smith, co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, noted, while NAGA said in September that women wouldn’t be blindsided by male opponents, there hasn’t been any enforcement of the policy by the organization or an effective outside watchdog — much less mainstream media coverage.
“A rule is only effective if a federation will follow it and, most importantly, enforce it,” Smith said.
Now, you would think the conclusion one might reach from this outcome is so antediluvian even a character in an early season of “Mad Men” wouldn’t utter it: Men are so good, they’re even better at being women than women are.
However, not only is this not the zenith of sexism, but to point this quite salient fact out — at least as it relates to athletics — runs the risk of mass shunning.
For pointing out the bleeding obvious, that men have biological advantages in certain sports that no amount of hormones, drugs or surgery can erase, women’s college swimmer Riley Gaines has become a pariah in certain circles (and a target for assault in other circles). In those same circles, the male college swimmer who interloped in female sports — Lia Thomas — is hailed as a hero.
Gaines was one of those weighing in on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu controversy, and she was characteristically blunt.
“In the name of inclusivity and feminism, males are brutally beating up on women and being awarded for it,” she wrote in a social media post. “Think about the message this sends.”
In the name of inclusivity and feminism, males are brutally beating up on women and being awarded for it.
Think about the message this sends https://t.co/tFbpuNZamn
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 27, 2023
This is 2023. Not only have progressives bent reality beyond the point of breaking, but for too many leftists, it’s a badge of honor to deny its existence — particularly when it comes to gender.
“The majority of the women feel scared to even speak out about this matter. They don’t want to be labeled a bigot or transphobic,” Wilk told Reduxx.
“There’s so many girls just not signing up now because they are allowing this. Women’s sports will cease to exist if this keeps up. Medals, belts, records, and money are going to be stripped right away from women.”
Smith agreed.
“I have now spoken to four women who have all fought male fighters in the combat sport of Jiu Jitsu,” Smith said. “They are extremely upset. They are self-excluding. They are emailing federation leadership and being dismissed. These organizations and teams that are encouraging this dangerous display of violence against women need to be publicly shamed into doing what is right for women or reap the outrage that comes with cowardice.”
Thankfully, there’s a happy ending to this. According to conservative-leaning sports outlet OutKick, NAGA issued new rules Saturday stating that “[w]e will have divisions for only cisgender females. Transgender females will not be entered into these divisions.”
“Transgender females must compete in the men’s division. We hope that the simplicity of this revised policy will help to avoid any future occurrences where transgender females enter women divisions. If NAGA staff is informed that a transgender female is in a women’s division, they will be given the choice to go to the men’s division or given a refund.”
Yes, it may be a badge of honor on the left to pretend reality doesn’t exist. However, reality — bless its dear heart — has the stubborn habit of reasserting itself quite bluntly, even if men can take home women’s gold medals at a martial arts event.
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