Edwin Moses on trans athletes - Economist Radio

[MondayYogurt]

Listening to this right now. An athlete's perspective.

www.economist.com/podcasts/2020/07/30/how-do-you-become-a-world-class-athlete

Thanks OP.
Edwin Moses comes across as a very thoughtful man who speaks a lot of sense on a lot of issues. It's good to hear an interview where somebody is allowed to speak without being interrupted or accused of transphobia.

Discussion starts at around 19:40

@Signalbox

Thanks OP. Edwin Moses comes across as a very thoughtful man who speaks a lot of sense on a lot of issues. It's good to hear an interview where somebody is allowed to speak without being interrupted or accused of transphobia.

He’s a man.

Just fascinating - but mostly because he obviously thinks it is unfair to women, he obviously knows that it is unfair to female athletes, but he has to be so guarded and careful about how he says it. Saying its a complicated issue, when obviously he does not think it is!! He cannot come straight out and say, no, this is demonstrably unfair to women, even though, this appears to be what he thinks....

Really worth listening to.

Very well put and you can see he has a lot of sympathy for Caster Semenya. He also recognises what is fair.

I think he came across to me very much as he did to other PP - he gets it (albeit I'm not entirely sure he's disentangled trans versus intersex in his head) but he's being measured to the point where he's almost fence sitting.

But what a fascinating interview with a fascinating man I used to watch him in his prime and he was awesome (he was to 400m hurdles what Bolt was to the 100m). Didn't realise though that he started out majoring in physics and engineering on an academic scholarship. (And I'd forgotten about the bobsleigh).

I loved watching Edwin Moses back in the day - and what an interesting interview. Thanks OP!

I loved Ed too, glad he is one of the good guys!

Thank you for the recommendation, I listened to the whole thing doing chores.
The interview was quite superficial but what an amazing man!
The account starts with his academic scholarship to a “historically black college” with no sports facilities, training at a local high school playing field, then competing internationally as an athlete during the Cold War. He originally wanted to be a medical doctor but worked as a physicist whilst competing as a hurdler. Then breaking into a “white person’s sport”, bobsleigh.
Now the chairman emeritus of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and now head of the Olympic effort.

Not actually much in this podcast on feminist issues but they touched on Caster Semenya for whom they were sympathetic. The interviewer described a category of intersex athletes as hyper-androgenised. Dr Moses insisted on clearer language, He chose “biologically male but socialised as female” And he mentioned the podium where all the women’s medals went to intersex athletes, and the need for fairness to “biological women”.

I'm another one who remembers him from the Olympics and as someone with little interest in sport (and men!) I thought he was amazing. He seemed very thoughtful at the time - and he wore glasses while competing which for someone who got classified (rightly) as being unsporty because i wore glasses was sort of nice.

But I think it is really good that someone with his reputation is prepared to speak up. And with what seems like a really impressive career and campaigner we can only hope people will pay attention.

As others have said, they will not raise a finger against Ed Moses, he is an icon, but more importantly a man.
I would love to see more influential male athletes speak out about this, but to be honest, at the moment there is so much other stuff going on in the World.
If the Olympics had been held this year, then I think it would all have come to a head.