USA Today edits teen girl's op-ed for 'hurtful' language on trans athletes

By newseditors // 2021-05-31

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USA Today is under fire after altering an op-ed written by a Connecticut girl explaining the disadvantage she and other female athletes face in competing against boys claiming to be transgender girls in track and field, adding an editor’s note to the top apologizing for “hurtful” language used in the piece and altering her words, specifically targeting the word “male.”

(Article by Hannah Bleau republished from Breitbart.com)

The publication originally ran a piece from the young woman, Chelsea Mitchell, who detailed her struggles competing against biological boys claiming to be transgender girls. “Instead, all I can think about is how all my training, everything I’ve done to maximize my performance, might not be enough, simply because there’s a runner on the line with an enormous physical advantage: a male body,” she wrote in the original piece. However, the current version of the USA Today piece omits those three words: “A male body.” That is not the only edit, either. An editor’s note at the top of the article provides the following explanation: “This column has been updated to reflect USA TODAY’s standards and style guidelines. We regret that hurtful language was used.” The Alliance Defending Freedom, representing Mitchell, explained that the publication altered her op-ed on May 25 without notice, changing male to transgender in the body of the article. More examples of USA Today’s changes, emphasis added:

Original: I won that race, and I’m grateful. But time after time, I have lost. I’ve lost four women’s state championship titles, two all-New England awards, and numerous other spots on the podium to male runners. I was bumped to third place in the 55-meter dash in 2019, behind two male runners. With every loss, it gets harder and harder to try again. USA Today edits: I won that race, and I’m grateful. But time after time, I have lost. I’ve lost four women’s state championship titles, two all-New England awards, and numerous other spots on the podium to transgender runners. I was bumped to third place in the 55-meter dash in 2019, behind two transgender runners. With every loss, it gets harder and harder to try again.

Original:

The CIAC allows biological males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. As a result, two males began racing in girls’ track in 2017. In the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons alone, these males took 15 women’s state track championship titles (titles held in 2016 by nine different girls) and more than 85 opportunities to participate in higher level competitions that belonged to female track athletes. That’s because males have massive physical advantages. Their bodies are simply bigger and stronger on average than female bodies. It’s obvious to every single girl on the track.
USA Today edits:
The CIAC allows transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. As a result, two transgender athletes began racing in girls’ track in 2017. In the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons alone, these runners took 15 women’s state track championship titles (titles held in 2016 by nine different girls) and more than 85 opportunities to participate in higher level competitions that belonged to female track athletes.

Their bodies are simply bigger and stronger on average. It’s obvious to other girls on the track.

Christina Holcomb, legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, slammed the publication for altering Mitchell’s piece.

“.@USATODAY published our client Chelsea Mitchell’s opinion about the unfairness she experienced being forced to compete against male athletes. But after backlash from the woke mob, editors unilaterally changed Chelsea’s words & called them ‘hurtful language,'” Holcomb explained.

“What was the ‘hurtful language’ that editors deleted from Chelsea’s opinion piece three days after publication? The word ‘male,'” she continued, concluding the publication “violated its principles to appease the mob.” “This blatant censorship violates the trust we place in media to be honest brokers of public debate. Chelsea’s experience & viewpoint matters,” she added, providing a link to the original version of Mitchell’s piece: https://twitter.com/ChristianaADF/status/1397610845761425410 https://twitter.com/ChristianaADF/status/1397610848902864906 USA Today initially faced severe backlash for running the piece from members of the far-left, including transgender activists. One transgender activist, Dawn Ennis, smeared Mitchell as a “transphobic.” Ennis also said, “Mitchell and her legal counsel are ‘extremist Christians’ and that they belong to a ‘hate group'” while insisting that Mitchell “wants the right to ‘discriminate,'” as Breitbart News detailed. Others piled on as well, blasting USA Today for running what they inaccurately described as “transphobic propaganda.” Read more at: Breitbart.com

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