Malcolm Gladwell Says He Was ‘Cowed’ Into Backing Trans Athletes In Women's Sports — But That’s No Excuse
The journalist and best-selling author now admits he didn’t believe pro-trans arguments at a 2022 panel — but chose silence.
Malcolm Gladwell says he’s ashamed of how he handled the transgender athlete debate.
In a recent appearance on The Real Science of Sport podcast, the best-selling author admitted that he didn’t actually believe the pro-trans arguments being made at a 2022 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference panel he moderated — but he kept quiet anyway.
"I’m ashamed of my performance at that panel because I share your position 100%, and I was cowed," Gladwell told Ross Tucker. "The idea of saying anything on this issue — I was, I believe in retrospect — in a dishonest way. I was objective in a dishonest way."
Gladwell said he now believes there would be "near unanimity in the room that trans athletes have no place in the female category," adding, "I don’t think there’s any question."
Look, I’ll start by giving Gladwell some credit. It takes a certain level of humility to admit you were wrong. And I believe he was being honest when he said he found the pro-trans arguments at that 2022 panel "nuts." In fact, that’s the exact word he used.
"There was that moment when... the trans athlete on the panel... turned to [Ross Tucker] and said, ‘Ross, you have to let us win,’" Gladwell recalled. "And it was at that moment that I realized this position has gone, this argument has gone, to the furthest extreme. What the trans movement is not asking for — they’re not asking for, you know, a place at the table. They’re not asking to be treated with respect and dignity. What they’re asking is for no one to question the considerable physical, physiological advantage they bring to the sport…
"When I heard that, I was like, 'This is nuts.' And yet I didn’t say anything."
That’s the part I can’t let slide. Because some of us did say something — long before it was socially acceptable to do so.
I published a column in March 2023 titled "Womanhood Is Not A Costume: The War On Women Nobody Is Talking About." The online hate I got was so intense I had to shut off my notifications for a week. Other OutKick writers could share similar experiences of online backlash they've received from our site's coverage of the issue over the past few years.
And that's mild compared to what many others have had to deal with.
While Malcolm Gladwell And Others Stayed Silent, Women Paid The Price
Riley Gaines was physically assaulted and barricaded in a classroom just for saying that males don’t belong in women’s sports. Female athletes were punished or kicked off their teams for objecting to biological males in their locker rooms. Gynecologists faced suspensions for refusing to treat males who identify as women. Journalists lost their social media platforms. Parents were investigated. Women who spoke up — even politely — were branded bigots, shunned by friends and labeled "TERFs."
This is what real bullying looks like. And yet, while it was happening, the Malcolm Gladwells of the world stayed quiet. Not because they truly believed in what was happening, but because they were afraid to say otherwise.
And now, after the cultural Overton window has finally shifted — after Elon Musk bought Twitter, after Donald Trump returned to office, after international sports governing bodies finally started banning males from women's categories — folks like Gladwell are peeking out of their safe spaces.
(Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
And Gladwell isn’t alone. This is going to be a trend. The left-wing elite will begin emerging from their "love and inclusion" bunkers now that the tide has turned. They’ll say, "I never really believed it" or "I was bullied into silence."
No. You were cowards.
It’s like COVID all over again. Remember when we were told we had to shut down schools, mask our kids, take untested shots, quarantine healthy people and upload vaccine cards to prove our worth as citizens? Then years later, those same people turned around and said, "Oopsie. Guess we overreacted. Let’s all move on."
No accountability. No acknowledgment of the real damage they caused.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m happy more people are waking up to reality. I’m happy to have allies in the fight to save women’s sports. But don't pretend you were "cowed" or bullied. Not when the actual victims were the women losing their opportunities, the girls forced to undress in front of boys and the everyday people who were dragged for daring to state basic biological facts.
I’m glad Malcolm Gladwell regrets what he said (or rather, didn't say).
But regret is cheap. Next time, have the guts to say what’s right when it matters — not just when it’s fashionable.