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Research Group Says Transgender Athletes Have Taken 2,293 Championship Spots From Biological Women
ReResearch Group Says Transgender Athletes Have Taken 2,293 Championship Spots From Biological Women
A new report from Concerned Women of America, drawing on the database, claims transgender athletes have displaced biological women from 2,293 championship positions since the mid-1980s, part of more than 14,000 female sporting events. The findings intensify the national debate over gender eligibility in women's sports.
A new report from the conservative advocacy group Concerned Women of America says that transgender athletes have displaced biological women from 2,293 championship spots across female sports since the mid-1980s, a figure that sharply escalates the national debate over gender eligibility rules in athletics.
The research draws on data compiled by, a volunteer-run database that tracks reported instances of transgender athletes competing in women's events. According to the report, transgender athletes have participated in more than 14,000 female sporting events spanning high school, college, amateur and professional competition.
The database's first page alone lists 200 instances dated between March 27, 2025, and September 18, 2026. Those entries include biological males earning league All-Star recognition in high school lacrosse, winning high school state championships in track and field in Washington, California and Oregon, and receiving All-conference honors in college fencing. A few cases also involved transgender athletes receiving «most improved» awards.
The report's central claim is not simply that transgender athletes are competing in women's sports, but that their participation has directly cost biological women specific honors and opportunities. The 2,293 figure represents championship positions the group says would have gone to female athletes absent transgender competitors.
The findings arrive amid a broader surge in transgender identification among young people. Author Abigail Shrier documented a 1,000 to 5,000 percent increase in trans-identifying youth over several years in her 2020 book «Irreversible Damage.» In 2023, the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that about 3 percent of high school students identified as transgender. By 2025, the Williams Institute estimated that 724,000 Americans ages 13 to 17 identified as transgender, roughly 3.6 percent of that age group.
The Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine has estimated that trans and nonbinary identification among college students is at an all-time high, ranging from 4.7 percent to 6.7 percent. That figure would not affect NCAA participation, since the association requires athletes to compete on teams matching their sex assigned at birth. But the WNBA currently has no concrete rule on gender restrictions, leaving open the question of whether college athletes might eventually seek entry into the league.
The debate has also drawn in former athletes and public figures. U.S. Olympic hero Nancy Hogshead has launched a petition calling on the WNBA to restrict gender eligibility. The push reflects growing pressure on professional leagues to establish clear policies.
At the high school level, the report cites a UCLA study estimating that as many as 122,000 transgender youth may be competing in high school sports. One former high school athlete, Ahnaleigh Wilson, told a reporter she lost to a boy in an eighth-grade track meet and later competed against four biological males in high school. Those individual accounts could not be independently confirmed, but the group behind the new research says they align with the broader pattern documented in the database.
Concerned Women of America argues that the frequency of such cases undermines the common claim that transgender participation in women's sports is rare. The group contends that even infrequent instances matter because they involve lost titles, scholarships and recognition for female athletes.
Critics of the report are likely to question the methodology, including the reliance on a volunteer-compiled database and the classification of athletes as transgender. The report does not include an independent audit of the entries, and some cases may involve athletes whose eligibility was determined under state or league rules that permit certain participation.
Still, the report's release adds new data to a policy fight that has already produced a patchwork of state laws. Some states have barred transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports, while others have allowed participation based on gender identity. The NCAA's policy, which uses sex assigned at birth, remains a focal point for both supporters and opponents of current rules.
The group behind the research says the trend shows no sign of slowing as long as laws permitting transgender participation remain in place. Whether that argument persuades policymakers or sports governing bodies is likely to be tested in the coming months, as the WNBA and other leagues face calls to clarify their eligibility standards.
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