Woman born male sues CrossFit for gender discrimination

Chloe Johnson, a transgender athlete who was born a male and who was prohibited by CrossFit from competing in a strength competition as a woman, has now launched a lawsuit claiming discrimination.

The athlete seeks $2.5 million in damages, CNN reported.

CrossFit, the company that sponsored the 2013 contest aimed at selecting and awarding the fittest man and the fittest woman, said it was only trying to keep the competition fair and protect its integrity. But the athlete’s attorney said the case is clear-cut discrimination, and the company should pay.

The now-Ms. Johnson was born a male but claimed to be a female during the teenage growing years, CNN reported. California subsequently recognized him officially as a woman, and in 2006, he underwent sexual reassignment surgery and started taking female hormones. The attorney also said that his client “doesn’t have an advantage over other women. She’s been on estrogen for such a long time,” CNN reported.

But CrossFit said through its attorney that it’s the birth gender that counts and that the company has an “obligation to protect the ’rights’ of all competitors and the competition itself,” CNN reported.

The letter from CrossFit’s attorney also says, CNN reported: “The fundamental, ineluctable fact is that a male competitor who has a sex reassignment procedure still has a genetic makeup that confers a physical and physiological advantage over women.”