"Athletes, advocates for women’s sports and fair-sport campaigners have questioned whether Hubbard, who competed in men’s competitions before quitting the sport more than a decade ago, has an unfair advantage...."

"It complicates matters that the rules of the sport allow teams in the Olympics to have only one entrant per weight class. Tracey Lambrechs, a lifter from New Zealand who competed in the same weight class as Hubbard, said that the sport’s national governing body gave her an ultimatum several years ago, after Hubbard had begun outperforming her: Drop to a lower weight class or retire. Hubbard’s participation, Lambrechs said, deprived other women a chance to compete. Her comments led to their own backlash. 'We’re all about equality for women in sport, but right now, that equality has been taken away from us,' Lambrechs told TVNZ. 'Weight lifters come up to me and say, like, what can we do? Like, this isn’t fair, what can we do? And unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do because every time we try to voice it, we get told to be quiet.' At the weight lifting competition in Tokyo, athletes have largely avoided discussing the significance of Hubbard’s presence at the Games.... 'I don’t know if there is a good solution where everybody is happy,” said Janae Marie Kroc, a world champion bodybuilder who stopped competing after she transitioned because she did not want to invite criticism of transgender athletes. 'My biggest fear is Laurel does really well, has her best performance and others falter, and then it’s used against trans athletes.'"

From "Olympics’ First Openly Transgender Woman Stokes Debate on Fairness/Laurel Hubbard, a 43-year-old weight lifter from New Zealand, will compete on Monday, as some question her right to be at the Games" (NYT).

I question the phrase "Stokes Debate" in that headline. It seems more that the debate is suppressed. I notice that the NYT does not permit comments on this article, and I suspect that's because debate is not wanted on this issue. Has there ever been a more debate-provoking issue where the debate has been so thoroughly squelched? 

But the NYT posted this article at Facebook, and there are over 3,000 comments there. 3 samples:

"Although she identifies as a woman, and more power to her, she was born a man. And the physical structure, down to the very bones, are that of a man, and not a woman. You just can’t change that, hence gifting Laurel an unfair advantage. Decades of battles for women’s rights and for their chance to be equal, destroyed with one ludicrous decision." 

"I don't agree with a trans athlete competing in the category/gender they identify with, if they didn't went through hormonal therapy in their teenage years. Transwomen are superwomen by comparison with natural women and transmen are in complete disadvantage. Let's just stop this madness in sports!! Or, we can just let women and men compete together and in a decade or so, there will not be a place for natural women in sport competitions anymore." 

"Who cares. So many more things to put our efforts into: poverty, the environment, health, education, love, empathy, live and let live. It's sport...it's not intellectual, it's not world changing, it doesn't advance the human race. Get a life."