Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya on ban from 800m race & memoir 'The Race To Be Myself' | OTL

Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya on ban from 800m race & memoir 'The Race To Be Myself' | OTL
2-time Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya has been banned from running her favorite 800m race because of a condition that gives her high natural testosterone levels. She talks to Jeremy Schaap about her fight to run and her new memoir “The Race To Be Myself."
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[@hipking23]

ESPN 😂will have to turn off the comment section soon

[@AdanysMusic]

Bet😂

[@carlknepfler8976]

Agree with her not being able to compete with women. She is free to compete against men. If you say it’s not fair for her to compete against men, how can you say it is fair for her to compete against women?

[@kxngmuzikig2417]

b/c shes a woman. a born woman. ofc she would compete against women. you can't punish someone for how they are born.

[@zacharybarker9991]

Because she is a woman. It's women's sports, not female XX chromosomes only sports

[@dashawnballard52]

@@lonutta exactly

[@alexisherrera4687]

He is a man who fathered a child. @@lonutta

[@MrAckers75]

@@lonuttaabsolutely factually incorrect…caster has 5-ARD and that’s a specific MALE issue but still has normal testosterone and testicles….stop living in cuckoo land idiot

[@skylarkphillips744]

All THREE medalists in the women's 800 at the 2016 Olympics are genetic male 46 XY DSD.

[@weedermann]

Are naturally women.

[@dariusreed123]

ESPN wild asl for this😂😂

[@frankfanning6341]

Question. How are biological women able to compete against her in sports when she has so many characteristics the majority of women will never have? And I'm not being mean as I ask this.

[@benjaminfranklin8412]

He discovered he is male. He has no womb. He has no ovaries. He has testes. And then decided to live in denial. He is a powerful voice for denial.

[@vcb1023]

A similar question was asked when African American athletes competed against whites and whites lost. Same when Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Surya Bonaly, Usain Bolt and Michael Jordan dominated sports. They all were scrutinized and told they have an unfair advantage. Then they were over tested, rules were made against them and certain moves made were banned. All in an effort to suppress their gifts because someone else couldn't handle them. The only part that's unfair is insignificant, average athletes need an excuse when people born with gifts have melanin. PERIOD!

[@benhenderson8952]

Man, that’s crazy

[@fwd105]

There's a lot of anger still there however what we should note is that her case was a learning curve for all involved and it was done to protect women. We can't forget that especially now.

[@fugazy2656]

She is a women born ome

[@MrAckers75]

Caster has 5-ARD and that is a MALE only issue …still has the same testosterone as a male still has testicles and xy chromosome…MALE

[@christopheruchia]

The voice and the name. Caster Semen.

[@weedermann]

If Caster was White--like Lia Thomas--no one in here would take issue with this.

[@richardcoreno]

ESPN should do a deep dive into Stella Walsh--Helen Stephens and the controversy in the 1936 Berlin Games......and the truth that was only revealed after a tragic murder in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 4, 1980.

[@RobbieStacks90]

My audio is turned off, and I know exactly what's going on here just by looking at Caster. It's really simple. If you're born with it, you're a man. If you don't have one at birth, you're a woman. You would know that even if you flunked biology in high school.

[@dashawnballard52]

She was born with the 🐱 so

[@Fujiwild100s]

@@dashawnballard52These people are so ignorant smh. She’s a WOMAN. Not a transgender or anything else 😂

[@bstar6534]

​@@dashawnballard52 He was also born with inverted testicles.

[@zacharybarker9991]

​@@bstar6534and you were born without testes. What's your point?

[@xvii-298]

This shit is getting ridiculous

[@dashawnballard52]

I mean if she was born with a 🐱 then you can’t be mad at her

[@xvii-298]

@@dashawnballard52 I’m not mad at him, I just think there’s an obvious competitive advantage. I could care less about what anatomy you claim.

[@dashawnballard52]

@@xvii-298 I claim , man tf if she was born with a 🐱 you can’t really be mad

[@xvii-298]

@@dashawnballard52 Clearly you don’t have a brain, since you posted the same comment twice. I’m not saying I don’t feel sorry for him. I’m saying he doesn’t belong competing with biological females. There’s a difference between hating someone and being fair, I sympathize with his struggles. Stop trying to gaslight me, I don’t hold hate towards anyone.

[@Paul-vf2wl]

I have no problem feeling sympathy for her but the ruling is the right thing to do intersex people have too big an advantage to be competing against women.

[@zacharybarker9991]

She is a woman. Woman is a gender identity, not a matter of chromosomes ya dingus

[@Paul-vf2wl]

@@zacharybarker9991 Speaking of dinguses we're talking about sex not gender .

[@KH-aug]

@zacharybarker9991 Elite sports competitors are divided by objective sex category, where the differences between male and female sports performance is 10-30% depending on the sport. They're not divided by subjective gender type. Wishful thinking isn't -- or shouldn't be -- competing; physical bodies are.

[@zacharybarker9991]

@@KH-aug they are literally called men's and women's sports, not male and female sports. It's spelled out for you quite cleanly

[@KH-aug]

@zacharybarker9991 Nope - virtually every dictionary defines men and women according to biological sex. You may at this juncture of your life want to engage in a little introspection. Try asking yourself why you want to pretend words have different definitions than they do, or perhaps why regressive gender stereotypes appeal to you. Progressive, human rights-supporting thinkers understand that no one can change their sex no matter how stereotypically male or female they appear, and that in certain specific scenarios, competitive sport being one, sex matters where fairness is sought.

[@KH-aug]

Caster talks about turning off emotions and avoiding all media: classic avoidance of cognitive dissonance.

[@Maxrepfitgm]

No sir I mean ma'am i mean...

[@benjaminfranklin8412]

He has no womb. He has no ovaries. He has testes.

[@SetsunaFSeiei-qy6kg]

*UNFORTUNATE SITUATION BUT REGARDLESS, JUST BECAUSE YOUR MEAT GREW INSIDE OF YOU DOSENT MAKE YOU A WOMAN.*

[@bstar6534]

Exactly!!!!!!!

[@baymathiya4581]

So what makes you a woman?

[@Joy-kc5xz]

@@baymathiya4581 being female

[@ROSH1503]

Okay let’s take a deep dive into genetics. Let’s take Victor Wembayama for example, if you tell this dude, “nah you are too tall, agile for this height, you need to take suppressors to ‘normalise’ you height or agility, so you can compete in the NBA as your genetics give you a massive edge over everyone else” That sounds ridiculous right? Well that’s what they (World Athletic Committee) are asking her to do in principle by telling her to take supplements to suppress her natural levels of testosterone. That’s fked! People need to give her some sympathy, imagine what she’s going though, this is true marginalisation at the highest level. Just because you genetically are not conforming with natural genetic definitions that we have formed ourselves, doesn’t give anyone the right to ban her from competing. Yes she has an advantage, fkn deal with it. Yet we let, non-biological females (who have gone through gender reassignment on their own) compete in female pro sports.

[@maxdurden7494]

It's a man, not a her. He has XY chromosomes, testicles, and a wife.

[@kxngmuzikig2417]

​@@maxdurden7494you're stupid

[@bstar6534]

I disagree with you completely. Caster is a biological male with an xy chromosome pattern. The only thing that makes him female is the birth defect which prevented his genitalia from developing appropriately. He is no different from a biological male competing, and no one wants that either. Does it make sense to you that Caster lives his life entirely As a male, but only wants to be recognized as a female when it comes to competing? Hmmmm...seems like Caster is the coward. He should run against other men if he wants to compete. He was lapping the field when he ran against women. The difference is not as simple as a deep dive into genetics, it is the reason why there is a separation of male and female sports. Caster is a selfish individual.

[@zacharybarker9991]

​@@bstar6534calling Semenya a "him" is insulting. She is a woman

[@celiabarrett2107]

A hard journey but if you are XY then you are a man.

[@maxdurden7494]

It's a man. He's a heterosexual man with testicle, XY chromosomes, and a wife.

[@truegrit7697]

He has an Adam's apple and a baritone voice.

[@jeanetterogerwilliams5716]

IDK

[@KH-aug]

At the end Caster calls for only women to be in charge of deciding whether someone like him should be allowed to compete. Caster says this bc he was always able to bully women into silence, by claiming essentially they weren't nice enough -- they were "intolerant of difference", "racist", etc -- so they'd back down. It's all such transparent gaslighting.

[@mxmus08]

Being born to look like this and transitioning into another gender are completely different. However, I don’t necessarily agree with everything she said, but I can understand her sentiment.

[@BiteMeRightHere]

"ban on 800m race".....Awesome!!!

[@bstar6534]

I understand where Csster is coming from to a degree. However, Caster looks like a man, dresses like a man, and lives like a man. In fact, the only time Caster wants to be a woman is when it comes to racing. When Caster found out that they actually had male chromosomes, one would think that he would accept himself as male. Caster could easily run against males but for some reason he wants to have an edge against women. Lastly, why would Caster want to run against women where they can't run to their full capacity?

[@zacharybarker9991]

Caster is a woman, why would she run against men, that makes no sense. We have men and women's sports, not male and female sports.

[@KH-aug]

Caster is a strong athlete but wouldn't hold a candle to elite male athletes, either due to his DSD, his inborn ability level, or a combination. His running career wouldn't have gotten off the ground.

[@truegrit7697]

He's a MAN, baby.

[@Quahogger]

Exactly. Caster has zero biological female dna. Testes, XY chromosomes, no uterus, ovaries, mammary glands. A male.

[@anthonywilliams3822]

​@@zacharybarker9991exactly!

[@dashawnballard52]

If they were born with a vagina , you can’t really be mad it’s a slippery slope.

[@KH-aug]

It's not about being mad, it's about fair competition. Once Semenya started going through male puberty, Semenya should have had full endocrinological and gynecological testing done. The medic specialists would have immediately understood Semenya's situation, which is a *very* difficult one to be sure. In that situation I as Semenya's parent would probably have tried to move the family far away and then let Semenya grow up as a boy who very unfortunately didn't have a penis - which no one would have to know. The male body is meant to have testosterone, which is why suppressing it made him feel so ill. But because he'd already gone through male puberty, he still had all those many male physiological advantages, which is why he still won races. Or if Semenya wanted to keep being called a girl, that would be ok, but I wouldn't have allowed them to keep doing competitive sport. It sounds like Semenya was very obviously boyish from his earliest years. His school principal who knew Semenya for years is on record saying he never realized Semenya *wasn't* a boy.

[@dashawnballard52]

@@KH-aug if you born with a 🐱, you a girl and even on religious and republicans standards she’s a woman, deal with it

[@dashawnballard52]

@@KH-aug so let’s not let a legally born woman run, y’all move the goalpost to much

[@tarnw3301]

South Africa probably knew he was a boy when they sent him but were betting over the committee thinking South Africa was such a third world country that it couldn't tell a boy from a girl. It worked.

[@InvestBetter.]

The only feminine thing about Caster is his fear of competing with other dudes

[@AdanysMusic]

😂

[@jeanicelewis510]

So Freaking RUDE!! REALLY HE???!!! Hope ur Mom, sister, Aunt, Daughter doesn't look like a HE!!!!

[@tayluc777]

😂

[@JohnRobertNaputi]

,? Jj pls. Kaa S J😅

[@matomem]

Looking back at when Caster was 18, it is beautiful to have witnessed her growth and maturity. How she articulates herself while shooting from the hip is very impressive.

[@MrAckers75]

Last time I did biology an xy chromosome and testicles was a male thing

[@benjaminfranklin8412]

He discovered he is male. He has no womb. He has no ovaries. He has testes. And then decided to live in denial. He is a powerful voice for denial.

[@wisdomkey1]

Let mom and dad speak for you... let they come out and tell the world that they gave birth to a girl child. Do you have a birth? It should show your sex from birth.

[@tonyv3053]

Shame on ESPN for giving this person a platform

[@dashawnballard52]

She was born with a vagina cuz, it’s her body

[@claudemoyen8676]

She was born this way, a woman, and she accepted it. This is not a Trans Gender conversion issue.

[@kxngmuzikig2417]

shame for a born woman getting fked over by those in power and to educate the public and possibly help others in her situation?

[@jeanicelewis510]

WTF. is this PERSON???!!! Just say YOU PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!! And what Race is THAT?

[@BeatsbyZay]

When I first saw her in 2016, I thought that was a man. Crazy to see this happen. Brittney Griner probably has the same thing lol.

[@Paul-vf2wl]

She has competed internationally and been tested so if she was intersex we would likely know.

[@KH-aug]

@Paul-vf2wl Actually the word is Griner *does* have the same DSD: 46x,y 5-ARD. Griner's on a women's team though, so isn't so directly taking wins from women, and is still helping female teammates win games. It's wrong though -- a woman should be in Griner's place on the team. Also, Griner hasn't been playing that well so doesn't stand out as much.

[@pumlakambule8297]

Halala Caster. You are my SHERO. We are so lucky to have you. I love you❤❤❤

[@zacharybarker9991]

So inspiring! I wish i was this confident in my self

[@MrClassicmetal]

So why aren't you? What's holding you back?

[@benjaminfranklin8412]

He found out he was male and refused to accept the facts. He isn't confident about himself. He is scared of facing the truth.

[@tarnw3301]

Identify as a woman a cheat in tournaments. Semenya did and it worked well for him

[@EmiliosFather]

This is crazy.🤯If she was a kid I’d be ok with her competing with females her age. But her being grown?…idk. I’d ask the women she’s supposed to compete with. If they’re cool with it,I’d be cool with it.

[@kxngmuzikig2417]

shes naturally born like this. same way Michael Phelps naturally has a body built for swimming

[@bstar6534]

The other women are not cool with it. They are the ones that complained. Caster was literally lapping the other women. Caster has a male chromosomal pattern. Caster is male with a birth defect which prevented his genitalia from developing. Caster lives like a man. The only time he wants to be a woman is when it's time to compete. Why is Caster so reluctant to run against men?

[@zacharybarker9991]

She isn't a man, so why put a woman in men's races?

[@Joy-kc5xz]

​@@kxngmuzikig2417and like Michael Phelps, he was born male, so he should compete in the male category

[@Paul-vf2wl]

I think for the most part the other runners accepted it but didn't like the situation. However the 2016 Olympics was the breaking point for letting intersex athletes run.

[@OGTirpleOG]

Y’all need to do your research. I am all for keeping trans men out of women sports. However, this girl was actually assign female at birth. However she has a condition that shows her male genitals are actually inside her body and never fully developed. Basically if you pull down her pants she looks like a girl, but if you do a MRI, shes a male. Does she deserve to be banned? I think so. However, this is not the case of where a male transition to gain a unfair advantage. This is the case of a doctors lack of knowledge at birth.

[@xavierb9061]

Why male if female parts as well

[@OGTirpleOG]

@@xavierb9061 because she has XY chromosomes and her condition is only seen in males. Her testosterone is also at the level of adult males.

[@hgtv9303]

So she has a clit n no balls since birth?? Ain't that a woman 😂😂😂

[@marquisherman6602]

I fully understand and agree with this comment, the doctors at the time of their birth were not educated enough

[@JS-ii4xr]

Hermaphrodite. A person who has both male and female genitalia. 6th grade biology. 1982

[@baymathiya4581]

Justice is with you Semanya! Thank you for your powerful voice that will guide humanity for the current and future generations! ❤🎉

[@benjaminfranklin8412]

He discovered he is male. He has no womb. He has no ovaries. He has testes. And then decided to live in detail. He is a powerful voice for denial.

[@messmeg7582]

You are male who beat women in competition.

[@jeremyzingale1456]

Get out of here bro

[@dashawnballard52]

If she was born with a vagina you can’t be mad tho

[@anthonywilliams3822]

Such a remarkable human being! Refusing to be marginalized and unfairly treated due to a genetic disorder. I love you, my sister! God loves you too!

[@ddstorted]

pause

[@Tigerkem]

I don't understand why this is controversial. She was born this way, this is no different than Phelps benefitting from having a body naturally gifted for swimming.

[@bstar6534]

Nope, Caster has a male chromosome pattern. Caster is in fact male and the genitalia did not develop. So, it is not fair. Remember, the only time Caster feels like a woman is when it comes to running. Other than that, he fully accepts himself as male.

[@zacharybarker9991]

​@@bstar6534you're confusing man with male and woman with female. Those are 4 different things 😂

[@KH-aug]

@Tigerkem If you'd like to understand the difference between Semenya and Phelps, you'll have to do some reading up on the *very* many and significant advantages mature male bodies have over female ones in sports competition. Across the board, males wind up with anywhere between a 10% and 30% advantage. Phelp's advantage was less than 1%, and he was also more self-disciplined and hard working than most of his competitors -- according to his competitors.

[@MrClassicmetal]

@@zacharybarker9991 A man is an adult human male, and a woman is an adult human female.

[@zacharybarker9991]

@@MrClassicmetal man and woman are social constructs. They aren't set in stone. Man isn't necessarily male, and woman isn't necessarily female.

[@georgerivera6549]

Bro go race other dudes stop it get some help

[@salmy82]

She was born different but yet a woman. Its crazy how people supporting trans woman and yet denying the biological woman. We live in a crazy world.

[@Mr.St3wi3]

Nah bruh. Race with the men, or other men like yourself. Edit- Just found out that she is a biological woman who was born with the kitty? but not the uterus.. hmm, seems a bit sus, but🤷🏾 what do I know ....

[@dashawnballard52]

She was born with the cat

[@Fujiwild100s]

@@dashawnballard52They do no research smh. And they say it in the description

[@bstar6534]

His genitalia did not develop, and his testicles were on the inside.. He also has an xy male chromosome pattern. He lives like aman, dresses like a man, and is married to a woman. He only wants to be a woman when it comes to racing. When he is a male with a genetic defect. That is not his fault, but he can't take a woman's spot.

[@Mr.St3wi3]

@@Fujiwild100s I could have easily deleted the post, but instead I admitted my mistake. As you were.

[@Joy-kc5xz]

This isn't a biological woman. It's a biological male with XY chromosomes whose p*nis didn't fully develop. He lacks every internal female sex organ, has every internal male sex organ with a fully male body and went through full male puberty. Males with his condition can even father children with the help of reproductive technology. What people here are calling a 😺 actually refers to a shallow, blind pocket that could be nothing more than a shallow indent. He's not intersex or female. He's not even a fully castrated male as he still has his testes.

[@YoutubeModsSuck]

That’s a dude