US comedian and martial arts commentator Joe Rogan has once again taken aim at Kiwi athletes on his podcast - this time targeting Kiwi transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard.
The podcast host drew derision last year after labelling the Tall Blacks "stupid" and "f**king dummies" for performing a haka at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014.
Now The Joe Rogan Experience - which is one of the most popular podcasts in the US - has turned its attention to Hubbard, who competed at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast earlier this month.
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During a debate about whether male-to-female transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against other females, Rogan pointed to Hubbard as an example of where such competition proves problematic.
"When transgender athletes go into weightlifting competitions, the male-to-female transgender athletes are overwhelmingly dominant," he said.
"I mean, is this a coincidence? No! It's someone who's had f**king testosterone pumping through their system and a Y chromosome their whole life.
"Now all of a sudden we're supposed to say, 'No, she's a woman; she's dainty'.
"She's got size 14 feet! She's got gorilla hands! What in the f**k are we doing here?"
The remark came after one of his guests, British activist Maajid Nawaz, mentioned Hubbard's appearance at the Commonwealth Games.
"The only reason [the debate about Hubbard competing at the Games] didn't lead to crunch time was because she injured herself in the competition by sheer accident," he said.
Earlier in the podcast, Rogan explained that while he is all for people being legally recognised as a gender that doesn't match their biological sex, he thinks sport should treat the issue differently.
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He referenced the heavy criticism he faced after vocally opposing MMA fighter Fallon Fox when she was permitted to compete against cisgender women after transitioning from male to female.
"I've actually gone through this extensively," he explained, "because there was a woman who used to be a man and was competing in mixed martial arts against women and beating the shit out of them.
"I was saying 'this is a mistake'.
"You can't deny biological nature. There's physiological advantages to the male frame."
New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO Kereyn Smith has continually maintained that Hubbard should be allowed to compete.
"She meets all CGF, IF, NZOC and OWNZ criteria for selection and participation and is within the IOC Guidelines that have been designed to balance an individual's right to compete while ensuring a fair field of play," she told Newshub during the competition.
Newshub.
