(NewsNation) — Former race car driver Danica Patrick reasserted her opposition Thursday to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Patrick, who competed in a male-dominated field before retiring in 2018, said she speaks from experience when considering the physical differences between men and women in sports.
“There’s a very big difference in biology between a man and a woman, when we’re looking at peak and pure potential of strength,” Patrick told NewsNation’s “On Balance.” “It’s not in the biological cards for a woman. A man is always going to have more strength. Testosterone is generally 10 times higher in men than women. So, it just doesn’t make it fair.”
NCAA changes participation policy on transgender athletes
A 2023 Gallup poll found a growing number of Americans — 69% of those surveyed — said transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete on sports teams that correspond with the gender they were assigned at birth. That was up seven points from 62% in 2021, Gallup reported.
Patrick said people are free to “live their own lives.
“But when it intrudes on someone else’s ability to live the life that they want or has a dramatic influence in the kind of life that is lived, it just has to be addressed,” she added.
Patrick hosts the “Pretty Intense Podcast.” She joined the NewsNation show to discuss gender-related issues, including Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal to replace statutory language about mothers with the term “inseminated person” for in vitro fertilization.
Evers said the inclusive change would offer legal clarity to same-sex couples who use IVF to have children.
