Ohio College Lacrosse Coach Discusses Repercussions of “Being Burned at the Stake” After Her Stance on Transgender Athletes

The debate around transgender participation in sports is layered and nuanced with a great impact on how we see our own identity. It is certainly a sensitive topic that needs to be dealt with care and approached with a degree of caution. So making statements about the subject, especially in cases when you’re against trans participation in sports is always going to be met with resistance and criticism. However, Kim Russell, Head Coach of lacrosse at Oberlin College, found this out the hard way.

Russell took to social media, expressing her displeasure at the victory of Lia Thomas – a trans athlete who won the women’s NCAA swimming championship event. She was then turned in to her athletic director about the post.

Kim Russell Faces Criticism

She additionally congratulated “the real woman” who won the event in her post. On posting this, Russell was supposedly grouped in with people who were filled with hate. She was also called in for disciplinary meetings and was told to write a letter of apology to the team and to the department. While she did start the letter, she stopped soon, realizing that she never felt sorry for her statements. She believes she was “Burned at the stake” for the views she held.

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A meeting was arranged to address this situation. Russell described the meeting as a free-for-all session to criticize Russell’s views and the post. Authorities told Russell that she was entitled to her opinion but couldn’t share it if it reflected badly on Oberlin. She was also given a letter on record and told she needed to change her behavior. However, Russell sees it as her duty to talk about this issue.

“Because if I don’t speak out, who is going to speak out?” THAT is the point,” Russell believes. She also claims transgender participation in women’s sports represents a war on women, calling on all the feminists who spoke out during the #MeToo movement.

Reaction to the Criticism

Russell had reportedly joined Oberlin because the liberal college let her exercise her freedom of speech and expression. However, once her views were being silenced, she sought out help from the Independent Women’s Forum. The group has even made a documentary closely following her story. As things stand, Kim Russell has yet to apologize but, given her latest comments, it is unlikely that she will.

Although a liberal college, students and teachers at Oberlin are often inclined to the left. In the past, this so-called “woke” group of individuals has protested against the arrests of two black students caught shoplifting, who later pleaded guilty. This is an issue that factors in political persuasions and nuanced understanding of one’s identity. So it’s unlikely that we will see a consensus that everyone agrees on anytime soon.

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