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50-Year-Old Transgender Basketball Player Joins Jr. College Women’s Team…Is This Fair?

Dec. 15, 2012 8:15pm

This story will likely cause powerful, emotional reactions from several different directions. It involves a 50-year-old father and Desert Storm veteran who wants to play college basketball again.

Before you answer the question about a college allowing someone more than twice the age of the average player to compete, realize that this person has likely just become the first to play competitive collegiate sports as a man and a woman.

You read that correctly.

50 Year Old Transgender Robert Gabrielle Ludwig Joins Jr Basketball College Team Fair?

Credit: AP

This is the story of Robert Ludwig, now Gabrielle Ludwig, a 50-year-old recent sex change operation recipient who is now playing for the women’s basketball team of Mission College in Santa Clara, Calif.

After her procedure this past summer, Ludwig petitioned the court for a new birth certificate that would designate her sex as “female.”  On Nov. 30, a judge awarded her the new birth certificate and in the eyes of the government, Robert Ludwig is now officially Gabrielle Ludwig.

That one piece of paper opened doors for Ludwig. However, there were concerns that her previous time as a college player might be a problem. Back in 1980, then-Robert Ludwig played for Nassau Community College and the bylaws of the Community College Athletic Association only permit a player to participate for two years. But the athletic association decided to reinstate Ludwig’s full eligibility, based on the fact that he was now legally a “she” and deserved the full two years of permitted playing time with her new gender.

With all of the legal hurdles cleared, Gabrielle Ludwig on Dec. 4 stepped down from her position as assistant to the coach of the Mission College Saints, to #42, a member of the team.

50 Year Old Transgender Robert Gabrielle Ludwig Joins Jr Basketball College Team Fair?

Image: Martin E. Klimek / USA Today

Coach Corey Cafferata met his new player a year ago when Ludwig was coaching a youth league team that played in the Mission College gym. They talked about the possibility of finding a spot on the roster and stayed in touch. But Cafferata also told the Associated Press that Gabrielle was not given a guarantee that she would make the team:

“Gabrielle has earned a spot on this team,” he said. “She practices hard. She runs hard. She is no different from anyone on the team — she is a great, coachable player.”

“Coachable” or not, Ludwig’s presence on the court has brought controversy.

Outsports.com reported that an ESPN radio affiliate recently suspended two announcers for on-air comments made about the situation. Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin of ESPN 980 are currently benched after referring to Gabrielle as “it” and also making remarks about her appearance. The statement from the station:

We strongly believe two of our employees crossed the line when discussing a transsexual person on their program last Thursday. Such intolerance and insensitivity will never be tolerated by this company. Due to the nature of their conversation, the pair have been temporarily removed from ESPN980′s Sports Reporter program.

Listen to the audio from ESPN 980 that triggered the suspension:

There have also been mixed reactions from fans in the stands. Some have issues with the gender reassignment topic, others with her size, and still others with her age. However, Dale Murray, the commissioner of the conference told EdgeBoston.com that her age was likely to work against Gabrielle:

“She just happens to be a bit taller than everyone else,” he said. “What if she was born a female and six-feet five-inches? She’s a little older than other community college players, so that’s probably to her disadvantage.”

Ludwig is not immune to the complaints and controversy, and just last week she gathered the Saints together and offered to quit. The Chicago Sun Times reports that the team rejected that offer. In fact, it appears to have unified them. Says teammate Amy Woo:

“We all love her. If someone is going to talk against her, they are talking against all of us because it’s like she is part of a family.”

Lest you think this is the first time a transgendered person has played college sports, it has happened before. In Sacramento, the Cosumnes River College women’s team had a transgendered player on their squad for an entire season, and little was said or written about it.

Pro sports have a 35-year history with topic of  transgendered athletes. Back in the mid-70s, another veteran of the U.S. Military, Dr. Richard Raskind underwent a sex change and became Renee Richards. An excellent tennis player with professional aspirations, Richards was denied entry into the U.S. Open tournament and took her case to the New York Supreme Court. In 1977, Richards won the suit and was allowed to play professionally.

50 Year Old Transgender Robert Gabrielle Ludwig Joins Jr Basketball College Team Fair?

Image: AP / KERRY COUGHLIN

Last year, Renee Richards talked with ESPN TV about the acceptance of transgendered athletes and fairness of allowing men who become women to compete in women’s sports:

How do you feel about the issue? Take our Blaze poll below:

Transgender Athlete

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Comments (184)

1 2 3 … 5
  • Jake Dog2
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:45pm

    The Monk
    How come that IP shows uo as ITT in Orange County?

    Report this comment

    Jake Dog2  
  • whitealaskan
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:44pm

    He still has XY chromosomes. Last time I checked that’s what determines a person’s sex.

    Report this comment

    whitealaskan  
    • SUNTZU
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 10:17pm

      Right
      having your wing-ding removed wont make you a woman.
      No more than putting a stick up your A$$ makes you
      a pop sickle

      Report this comment

      SUNTZU  
    • chips1
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 10:24pm

      You just ruined Holloween.

      Report this comment

      chips1  
  • LeadNotFollow
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:43pm

    “Her” six foot six manly body build would give her team an unfair advantage.

    Report this comment

    LeadNotFollow  
    • Ishmot2
      Posted on December 16, 2012 at 5:55pm

      It’s not a “HER” IT’s a MAN! The only place it should play is in the NBA if it’s good enough, which it isn’t, and the only reason I’m calling it an it is because that’s what it wants. Having his dick removed does not make him a women. In fact nothing will make him a women because he was born a man!

      Report this comment

      Ishmot2  
  • rl
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:39pm

    …Is This Fair? Who cares about fair???? Woman always bitch about not playing mens games…. now it’s HIS turn to play….

    Report this comment

    rl  
    • TERossi
      Posted on December 16, 2012 at 12:32am

      Magically it becomes “unfair” when the tables are turned.

      Report this comment

      TERossi  
  • TJexcite
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:38pm

    Be whatever you what to be but, where is the line when even in something as simple as jr collage basketball. The next thing is, coming to the 2016 Olympic. Someone who was born man and has trained with men for years then right before going they find out they are transgender and get the sex change paid by the state to compete in the woman races. Some will be willing to do that for the motherland not just because they feel like that is what they must do to be whole.

    Report this comment

    TJexcite  
    • chips1
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 10:23pm

      Issue Koko a birth certificate and a liberal judge can declare him human. That would qualify him for Congress.

      Report this comment

      chips1  
    • jimbo_from_suwanee
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 10:56pm

      The Chinese are having special tryouts for every team. Enough men for two teams in each sport. So, all male tryouts, the ones that make the team stay on the men’s team. The ones who do not make the team are sent to surgery so they can be the women’s team. Gives a whole new meaning to the term cut from the team.

      Report this comment

      jimbo_from_suwanee  
    • RavenGlenn
      Posted on December 16, 2012 at 1:28pm

      You realize that getting a sex change takes years of therapy and hormones that change your body right? All those manly notions of strength, muscular structure, and speed are removed and change to a woman’s level. The skeletal structure doesn’t change, but that’s about the only thing.

      Report this comment

      RavenGlenn  
  • BODYBAG
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:35pm

    It doesnt take special genius-ry to piece it together.
    Dude was traumatized by war.
    Now he thinks having his willy removed will solve that.
    Wrong.

    Report this comment

    BODYBAG  
  • RedHedMan
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:25pm

    I say good for him. The hypocrisy kills me. Everyone claps like idiots when women sue to get into the Citadel, PGA, All men schools, etc… But, when a man tries to do the same he is met with resistance and ridicule. Women say there is no difference between the sexes and that they can do anything a man can. Then when they have to prove it the excuse is “well he’s a man”. Men and women are not the same no matter how much fools try to say they are.

    Report this comment

    RedHedMan  
    • Kupo
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:39pm

      I am of two minds on this issue. First of all, I fully support the separation of men’s and women’s leagues in sports. It is there for a reason. However on the other hand, I too am sick and tired of the feminist mantra that women can do everything that men can do (and do it in heels!), so I look forward to any opportunity to prove them wrong. When this 50 year old man dominates the court I hope to see some smug feminazi grins wiped right off.

      Report this comment

      Kupo  
    • TeresaJ
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 10:02pm

      Not everyone, Redhenman. Maybe we non-liberal women just have the sense to fight back ;)

      Report this comment

      TeresaJ  
    • MGrilla
      Posted on December 16, 2012 at 12:19am

      @KUPO I think you might be right, sit back and watch the train reck, the dude should dominate if he doesn’t probably due to his geriatrics. I’m not the organized sports kind of guy, more like the punch you face, kick you in the head sports kind of guy, so I’m not sure how close the stats are between the sex’s in collage basketball, however just for the femnazi’s , I’d love to see this scenario played out in the sport of MMA . But then it would probably just be seen as a dude beating up a chick.

      Report this comment

      MGrilla  
  • KangarooJack
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:22pm

    THAT is exactly why your child is getting a D in phys-ed. Had a few in JR. HI – ALWAYS watched you shower. You would get an “I” if you didn’t shower.

    Report this comment

    KangarooJack  
    • chips1
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 10:29pm

      Gosh. an “A” in Phy-ed and an “F” in biology. There goes a good grade point average.

      Report this comment

      chips1  
  • mtlmusic
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:16pm

    Wow! I’m in my 40′s but i guess my dreams of playing professional sports has just been rekindled! LOL!

    Report this comment

    mtlmusic  
    • MDECKER
      Posted on December 16, 2012 at 12:00am

      A bit of a drastic way of squirreling ones self into the woman’s locker room. Chesterina.

      Report this comment

      MDECKER  
  • R.A. Bullseye
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:14pm

    This is a joke right? Where is Monty Python? SNL? Really? Seriously? How far do people expect this to go before someone starts laughing? I mean seriously….I am sorry that you had a twisted past but DUDE you are not a woman. You are not at all. You may have a long greasy pony tail and all the liberal left freaks cheering for you , you may even be a lady but you are not a woman and you shouldn’t be coaching a young woman’s basketball team. Shouldn’t those young ladies have someone to look up to like themselves? I mean you are doing more harm than good…..This would be like Michael Phelps going into a junior life guard course and taking all the trophies.

    Report this comment

    R.A. Bullseye  
    • Inlightofthings
      Posted on December 16, 2012 at 9:16am

      R.A.
      Just for clarification, Ludwig isn’t coaching…she’s playing on the team. Even worse…!

      Report this comment

      Inlightofthings  
  • NeoKong
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:07pm

    Political correctness is the mindset that people can be intimidated into accepting a lie as the truth.
    Gender cannot be changed.
    Mr. Ludwig will never be a woman no matter how many surgeries he receives and it is unfair to all the other players in the league that he can just bulldoze his way down the court as they are forced to pretend he is a woman.

    Report this comment

    NeoKong  
    • john141714
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:19pm

      ok now I know we as a country have gone insane….. thought I knew that awhile ago but this confirms it.

      Report this comment

      john141714  
    • TeresaJ
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:41pm

      “Political correctness is the mindset that people can be intimidated into accepting a lie as the truth.
      Gender cannot be changed.
      Mr. Ludwig will never be a woman no matter how many surgeries he receives and it is unfair to all the other players in the league that he can just bulldoze his way down the court as they are forced to pretend he is a woman.”

      This. If I had to play against him, I would be complaining for fairness loud and clear.

      Report this comment

      TeresaJ  
    • KangarooJack
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 11:39pm

      I’d just kick him in his surgically removed nads and count on HIS brain registering an injury…

      Report this comment

      KangarooJack  
  • TheEDGE
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:56pm

    Her nickname will be “Yao Thing”.

    Report this comment

    TheEDGE  
  • BODYBAG
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:51pm

    God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

    Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good,
    no, not one.

    Report this comment

    BODYBAG  
  • stopprintn
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:50pm

    Wonder if twinkle toes is on its 2nd or 3rd pell grant, on the back of the tax payers?

    Report this comment

    stopprintn  
  • cwrink
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:40pm

    And we wonder what is wrong with the world and with our country? Trampling on the laws that God set out for us thousands of years ago. God knew what He was doing when He formed you in your mothers womb. Guess it’s not no mystery why we are having so many tragedies and losing our precious children. Wake up America!

    Report this comment

    cwrink  
  • MrButcher
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:34pm

    She’s a pretty lady……ha!

    This story perfectly illustrates the existential disconnectedness that pervades our culture.

    We are a nation of delusional idiots.

    It’s so crazy it is funny.
    It’s so funny it is sad.
    It’s so sad it is meaningless.

    Oh well, whatever, never mind…

    Report this comment

    MrButcher  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:33pm

    CALLING ALL WHITE HAT HACKERS THAT WANT TO SHUT DOWN A NIGERIAN IDENTITY THEFT RING THAT POSTS EVERY DAY HERE. THEIR IP ADDRESS IS 98.126.39.196

    PLEASE REPLY TO ME HERE IF YOU WANT AND I CAN GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS IF YOU NEED THEM !

    That’s right troll…. You are not welcome here anymore. : )

    Report this comment

    The-Monk  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:32pm

    Oh, pooh! I responded too quickly.

    Check out current administration for such as these/her/it.

    Why do I feel that I’ve fallen into a vat of eels whenever we talk about this administration and the vile characters which (intentional) inhabit it?

    Report this comment

    kickagrandma  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:30pm

    Not even, “No”, but HELL, NO!

    Report this comment

    kickagrandma  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:06pm

      I went to a popular gay blog. Why because I am not a Kool Aid drinker.

      One of the things I learned there was they have no clue as to why trannies are trannies. They are confused. Yet they support them.

      Current psychology is to support the whole LGBT crowd because the APA is under the belief that it causes less harm to encourage them than to cure them.

      These psychologists thinks it is better to go along with their twisted ideals if that will solve their dysphoria than to tell them to man up (if they are men) or figure out who did what to them & put them down as a child, adolescent or adult.

      One in 400 people have a recessive genetic disease & they identify the gene. 5% of the population are carriers. 3% to 4% of the population is gay & they have found no gene. Genome has been mapped now for what 5 or 10 years. About 38,000 genes with a few to several thousand extensively studied. In 2 decades or so they will all be studied & this will end one way or another. They still have not found a gay gene much less a tranny gene. It is more likely that these people were bullied & it made them feel inadequate than there is such a gene that makes a person LGBT. The solution is to prevent bullying as much as humanly possible & have family, church or therapists repair the damage.

      Report this comment

      Walkabout  
    • BODYBAG
      Posted on December 15, 2012 at 9:31pm

      Here’s the truth no one will speak —–
      Everyone has an inner battle against something. Everyone.
      Sex, gambling, drugs, food, pick your vice.

      Some people have a stronger will than others.

      Either it wins, or you win.
      What God cares about is if you’re trying.
      Its that simple.

      Report this comment

      BODYBAG  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on December 16, 2012 at 12:41pm

      Wow, I figured someone would argue with my post. If I had cited the Bible they surely would have. I argue logically with scientific fact & they cannot say any different. They just want to do “what they do” for worse.

      The way I see it is fine. Just don’t affirm it in schools as being healthy/sane (SANUS) way of living

      Report this comment

      Walkabout  
    • dflocks80
      Posted on December 16, 2012 at 6:44pm

      @ Walkabout

      I’ll bite on this one. I don’t agree with you on the bullying thing. There are plenty of stories of younger kids, pre-Kindergarten in age, who identify themselves as the opposite gender. These kids had no chance to ever be bullied in a normal school setting, yet they see themselves as transsexual.

      I also know a guy who was heavily involved in church, with church going parents. He was effeminate, but insisted he was not gay. He was also in the popular crowd, and not bullied. After graduating high school, he now openly admits he is gay. No bullying and 18+ years of “church therapy,” yet somehow he ended up being gay. How does that work if your theory is to hold water?

      At the end of the day, who cares if someone is gay? The Constitution is not written to make us good soldiers of the army of God, and “onward Christian soldiers” should not be the motto of our government, in the domestic, foreign, social, or economic sphere. If you do not agree with the lifestyle, then don’t engage in it. Keep your johnson if you wish to remain a guy. Ridiculing these people like a common child, which appears to be the modus operandi of a lot of the commenters on this story, is destructive to your image, and likely spits in the face of any religious teachings you claim to hold.

      Report this comment

      dflocks80  
  • randy
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:28pm

    “Gabrielle has earned a spot on this team,” he said. “She practices hard. She runs hard. She is no different from anyone on the team. Except, she/he is the only one on the team that had a …..
    The USA is the modern version of Sodom and Gomorrah…… Disgusting.

    Report this comment

    randy  
  • GREENDOG
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:28pm

    Already played 2 years. That should be it.

    Report this comment

    GREENDOG  
    • dflocks80
      Posted on December 16, 2012 at 6:53pm

      Rational statement, and I agree that there should be no eligibility on this ground. It seems like 80% of the commenters on this story would rather just make fun of this person like a bunch of insecure children.

      Report this comment

      dflocks80  
  • GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:26pm

    I don’t know if I should laugh, cry, or just remain shocked with this story….

    Report this comment

    GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas  
  • Silversmith
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:24pm

    Nope, not fair. His physique and proportions are all male. Just cuz you rearrange the plumbing doesn’t make it fair to be treated as a woman in things where you still rely on your male attributes for an edge. And from the picture – it looks like a significant edge.

    Silversmith

    Report this comment

    Silversmith  
  • OldSurfRat
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:22pm

    Yea looks just like a woman (sniker sniker)

    If IT likes playing with balls why did IT have a sex change.

    Report this comment

    OldSurfRat  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on December 15, 2012 at 8:18pm

    CALLING ALL WHITE HAT HACKERS THAT WANT TO SHUT DOWN A NIGERIAN IDENTITY THEFT RING THAT POSTS EVERY DAY HERE. THEIR IP ADDRESS IS 98.126.39.196

    PLEASE REPLY TO ME HERE IF YOU WANT AND I CAN GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS IF YOU NEED THEM !!!

    That’s right troll…. You are not welcome here anymore. : )

    The-Monk  
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