Transgender woman and powerlifter Anne Andres publicly wished for a “painful death” and eternal suffering for female competitor April Hutchinson, who is based in Ontario. In videos posted on Instagram, Andres deplored Hutchinson’s opposition to transgender women’s participation in women’s sporting events.
Andres also expressed disappointment with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who previously pledged to introduce regulations to prevent men from competing against women in sports.
Throughout the online tirade, Andres drew parallels between trans women competing in women’s sports and black people being allowed to take part in sports, suggesting both represent broadening inclusivity.
This line of defense is particularly interesting – as it was tried by NCAA trans swimmer Lia Thomas and others.
Monitoring public opinion on controversial topics reveals significant trends, particularly in 2021 with notable events involving transgender athletes: Laurel Hubbard competing in Olympic weightlifting, Alana McLaughlin’s MMA debut, and Lia Thomas winning an NCAA event. Each case faced widespread backlash, reflecting a general opposition to trans women participating in women’s sports. A Washington Post and University of Maryland poll found that 55% of Americans oppose transgender female athletes competing in high school sports, and 58% oppose their participation at the college and professional levels. About 30% support trans women competing at any level, while nearly 70% believe trans girls would have a competitive advantage.
Mark Hyman from UMD highlighted a growing awareness and empathy towards transgender people but noted that acceptance in competitive sports lags. Ryan Grim, formerly from The Hill, discussed the strategy of linking trans rights to racial and economic justice, comparing it to historical movements like Tom Watson’s 19th-century populism.
This approach, as seen in Lia Thomas’s comparisons to Jackie Robinson, aims to shift public opinion by connecting trans rights to broader social justice issues, a tactic previously successful in advancing trans rights in Europe by tying them to more popular reforms like marriage equality.
Meanwhile, other voices in the field have been penalized for speaking out about the issue. Hutchinson was recently suspended by the Canadian Powerlifting Union for two years after publicly criticizing Andres for out-performing and taunting female competitors. Her remarks prompted Andres to single her out and wish “eternity suffering” on her and Smith.
The Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) has now issued a six-month suspension to Andres for uttering threats and engaging in a campaign of harassment towards several women and sports officials. The CPU deemed Andres’ words “harmful, disparaging, insulting, or otherwise negative.” In his response to the original complaint, Andres simply said “F**k the APU.” The CPU noted that Andres demonstrated “a lack of remorse” despite having removed several of his harassing posts from his social media accounts.
In an online post referring to both Hutchinson and Alberta premier Danielle Smith, Andres wrote: “That f**king terrible human being from Ontario makes profits off of hate… that self-righteous b**ch… goes and talks about how a trans basketball player is hurting women by playing… You f**king sicken me and you promote this kind of thing. There is no hell, but times like this I wish there was so you and Smith can spend eternity suffering… May your generation die painfully and leave the youth to inherit a better world.”
Despite the severity of Andres’ threats, the CPU has only handed a 6-month suspension, while previously suspending Hutchinson for two years for calling Andres “a male” and advocating for female-only sports. After a legal appeal, Hutchinson’s suspension was reduced to one year.
