Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into a weightlifting competition where transgender athlete Jammie Booker initially won the 2025 World’s Strongest Woman event in Texas, before being disqualified. Female competitor Andrea Thompson, who finished second, stepped down from the podium in protest, leading to Booker’s disqualification. Paxton’s office has condemned the situation and stated it will take actions to protect women’s sports, citing concerns over the integrity of female competitions. The dispute began when Jammie Booker, who publicly identifies as transgender, won the competition over weekend, prompting Andrea Thompson to step down as the champion in protest. This incident has sparked significant debate over the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports and the implications for fairness and equality in athletic competition.
Paxton’s office has taken a strong stance, asserting that they will not allow the so-called ‘radical left’ to undermine the integrity of girls’ sports. In a statement, the office emphasized that it will take any and all actions necessary to protect women’s sports across the United States. This is not the first time Paxton has taken action on this issue, as he previously filed a lawsuit against U.S. Masters Swimming for allowing trans athletes to compete in a competition in San Antonio earlier this year. These actions reflect a broader conservative political agenda focused on preserving what they perceive as traditional societal norms and protecting women’s sports from what they view as encroachment by transgender athletes.
The controversy surrounding the competition has generated widespread attention, with female athlete Andrea Thompson becoming a prominent figure in the movement to protect women’s sports. Thompson’s initial protest, in which she stepped off the podium, went viral and has been cited as a rallying point for activists pushing for sex-based eligibility and sex-screening in sports. Kim Jones, a co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS), condemned the situation, stating that female athletes deserve transparency and the assurance that their competitors are women. She argued that the absence of such measures has led to incidents like this, undermining the integrity of competitions and the hard-won efforts of female athletes.
The Official Strongman organization clarified that they were unaware of Jammie Booker’s biological sex at the time of the competition. In a statement, they emphasized that competitors must be assigned to men or women’s categories based on their biological sex at birth, ensuring that the competition maintains fairness. The organization also reiterated its commitment to inclusivity, stating that any athlete is welcome, but that fairness and the correct assignment of categories are essential to the integrity of the sport. The situation highlights the growing tensions over transgender inclusion in sports and the broader implications for gender identity and equality in athletic competition.
The controversy has also drawn attention to the broader societal implications of the issue. For instance, a recent case involving a transgender swimmer who was banned from World Athletics and stripped of recent results after refusing a sex test illustrates the ongoing legal and ethical debates surrounding transgender athletes in competitive sports. These cases have fueled discussions about the intersection of sport, gender identity, and the rights of athletes to compete on a level playing field. The ongoing litigation and regulatory actions reflect the complex and often divisive nature of these issues, which continue to shape the landscape of sports and public policy in the United States.