Former NFL defensive end Marcellus Wiley recently grabbed plenty of headlines regarding his opinion about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. In a recent post on Twitter, he made some controversial comments with respect to transgender sportspeople. Earlier, popular surfer Bethany Hamilton also said that she would not compete against transgender athletes in the World Surf League (WSL). However, Wiley’s comments have left the fans divided over the issue, with a lot of them applauding the ex-NFL player for speaking up.

Last year, legendary tennis player Martina Navratilova expressed the same opinion. Wiley is the latest to join Hamilton and Navratilova and raised his voice. However, they made it clear that they were not against transgenders in general. Meanwhile, his comments sparked a heated debate on Twitter, as many fans voiced their opinions.

The sporting world reacts to Ex NFL star Marcellus Wiley’s latest comments

In his latest Twitter post, Wiley said, “I have no issue with transgenders. I do have an issue with athletes who are transgendered trying to participate going from a transition of a man to a woman and now playing with the women.”

“You can be a transgender. You can be the homie, but I?ll be damned if a male at birth turns into a female and tries to compete against my daughters. She ain?t out there. We out… Don?t make this a human rights issue; this is a biological issue. Simple as that. Trust me, I am a man,” he further said.

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In the caption of the video, he also raised another question, saying, “Why can?t the dudes who transition to women actually empower women by competing against men?“

Meanwhile, many fans agreed with him, as one person on Twitter said.

https://twitter.com/MikeMRoy22/status/1627177710119182337?s=20

One more fan agreed with his comments.

Another Twitter user thanked Wiley for standing up for women’s sports.

Meanwhile, one fan posed an important question regarding transgender men competing in men’s sports.

https://twitter.com/KevinLortz/status/1627129610742767616?s=20

One more user thinks that it’s a clear advantage for transgender women over biological women if they compete in women’s sports.

On the other hand, one fan made a suggestion about creating a different league for transgender athletes.

One more fan complemented Wiley for standing up for his daughter.

Meanwhile, one Twitter user was in clear disagreement with Wiley’s comments.

Apart from that, many fans applauded Wiley for having the guts to speak up.

It is worth noting that Wiley’s daughter Moroccca Wiley is a track and field athlete and competed at UConn.

Bethany Hamilton received support from her peers?

In an Instagram post, Bethany Hamilton stated, “I personally think that the best solution would be to create a different division so that all can have a fair opportunity to showcase their passion and talent… I think it?s really hard to imagine what the future of women?s surfing will be like in 15-20 years down the road if we move forward allowing this major change.”

In her post, Olympic skier Julia Mancuso thanked Hamilton for standing up for women’s sports. Then, NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines felt inspired after watching Hamilton’s video.

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