Overview

• Gladwell said trans women have no place competing against athletes assigned female at birth, departing from earlier, more inclusive comments.
• He described himself as ashamed of moderating a 2022 MIT Sloan panel and said he felt cowed from expressing his view at the time.
• The comments were made on The Real Science of Sport with Ross Tucker and Mike Finch, with Tucker previously involved in World Rugby’s ban on trans women.
• Coverage questioned his claims about the 2022 event, noting no evidence for his assertion that 90% of the audience backed Tucker and disputing his paraphrase of Joanna Harper’s remarks.
• He shared the podcast clip on X as writers and commentators challenged his sincerity, and he did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.