Transgender athlete sues CrossFit for banning her from competing as female
By Madison Park, CNN
updated 4:23 PM EST, Fri March 7, 2014
(CNN) -- A transgender woman prohibited from competing in a strength competition as a female is suing the fitness company sponsoring the competition, seeking $2.5 million in damages.
Chloie Jonsson, a personal trainer, charges the CrossFit company with discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress and unfair competition in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Santa Cruz, California.
While her lawyer calls it a case of discrimination against transgender people, CrossFit's lawyer calls it protecting the competition.
Last year, Jonsson sought to compete in the CrossFit Games, a contest aimed at determining the fittest man and woman.
According to the lawsuit, Jonsson has identified herself as a female since her teenage years and is legally recognized by California as a woman. She had sexual reassignment surgery in 2006 and has been on female hormone therapy, according to her lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that a CrossFit teammate of Jonsson's sent an anonymous e-mail to the games organizers asking about transgender athletes in the competition. CrossFit determined that competitors in the event had to compete in the gender of their birth.