{"id":570834,"date":"2021-06-22T16:21:55","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T20:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=570834"},"modified":"2021-06-22T16:21:57","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T20:21:57","slug":"japanese-soccer-player-on-womens-world-cup-team-comes-out-as-transgender-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/japanese-soccer-player-on-womens-world-cup-team-comes-out-as-transgender-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Soccer Player On Women\u2019s World Cup Team Comes Out As Transgender Man"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjapanese-soccer-player-on-womens-world-cup-team-comes-out-as-transgender-man%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=570834&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1315554169.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p><span>In a video posted to YouTube, Kumi Yokoyama \u2014 a soccer player on Japan\u2019s women\u2019s national team, as well as the Washington Spirit \u2014 came out as a transgender man. The video was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eUzd3Qf9N4Y\">posted<\/a> to the YouTube channel of Yokoyama\u2019s former teammate, Yuki Nagasato, on Sunday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Yokoyama, who played for Japan in the 2019 World Cup, said she was encouraged to come out publicly after living in Germany and the United States.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019ve dated several women over the years but I had to stay closeted in Japan,\u201d Yokoyama <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/washington-spirit\/story\/4416541\/washington-spirits-kumi-yokoyama-comes-out-as-transgender-it-would-be-harder-to-live-closeted\">said<\/a>. \u201cIn Japan I\u2019d always be asked if I had a boyfriend, but here [in the United States] I\u2019m asked if I have a boyfriend or girlfriend.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhen my girlfriend said there was no reason for me to stay closeted, it really hit me. Coming out wasn\u2019t something I was enthusiastic about, but if I think about my life going forward, it would be harder to live closeted, so I found the courage to come out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Yokoyama is not the first soccer player to come out as transgender. Canadian midfielder Quinn came out in September and wore a \u201cProtect Trans Kids\u201d sweatshirt before a June match, helping Yokoyama in their announcement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c[Quinn] wore a [sweatshirt] that said \u2018Protect Trans Kids\u2019 before a game, and I realised that it was what taking action looks like,\u201d Yokoyama <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/washington-spirit\/story\/4416541\/washington-spirits-kumi-yokoyama-comes-out-as-transgender-it-would-be-harder-to-live-closeted\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cTo be able to accept people you have no relationship with, that\u2019s the kind of person I would like to become and I hope we can create that society.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to ESPN, Yokoyama underwent \u201ctop surgery\u201d at 20 years old and will have further surgeries following their retirement from soccer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cLately the word \u2018LGBTQ\u2019 has become more commonly known in Japan and been covered by the media, but people in my position aren\u2019t able to raise our voices and talk about it,\u201d Yokoyama <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/japanese-soccer-star-washington-spirit-144859685.html\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cJapan may be a small country, but if all of us speak up together then we can help raise awareness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The topic of transgender participation in athletics was already the subject of conversation, with Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand becoming the first openly transgender athlete to participate in the Olympics this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/opinion-in-the-battle-for-strength-it-helps-to-be-a-man-in-a-womans-world\">The Daily Wire<\/a>, \u201c<\/span><span>Hubbard transitioned in 2013, and became eligible to compete in the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee changed its rules in 2015, allowing transgender athletes to compete with athletes of the gender of which they identify \u201cas long as the athlete\u2019s testosterone measured below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least a year prior to competing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Hubbard \u2014 who is 43-years-old \u2014 transitioned in 2013 after competing in men\u2019s weightlifting competitions, and has had enormous success in women\u2019s weightlifting, setting four New Zealand national weightlifting records in 2017.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Although concern over <\/span><span>Hubbard\u2019s inclusion in the Olympic games has become a taboo subject, there have been a few athletes who have been willing to speak out. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/first-openly-transgender-athlete-will-compete-in-olympics-after-dominating-female-weightlifting-competitions\">The Daily Wire<\/a>, former Olympic weightlifter Tracey Lambrechs said that athletes were told to keep quiet if they complained about having to compete against Hubbard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"23.806004618938\">\n<p><i><span>Lambrechs blasted allowing biological men to compete against women in sports during an interview with Television New Zealand (TVNZ) last week, according to <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/lifestyle\/sports\/females-told-be-quiet-transgender-issue-ex-weightlifter-2021-05-07\/\"><i><span>Reuters<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>. Lambrechs comments come as the 43-year-old Hubbard is poised to become the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics, assuming they can qualify under the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) regulations for fitness and performance.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>\u201cI\u2019m quite disappointed, quite disappointed for the female athlete who will lose out on that spot,\u201d Lambrechs said. \u201cWe\u2019re all about equality for women in sport but right now that equality is being taken away from us.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>\u201cI\u2019ve had female weightlifters come up to me and say, \u2018What do we do? This isn\u2019t fair, what do we do?\u2019 Unfortunately, there\u2019s nothing we can do because every time we voice it we get told to be quiet,\u201d she continued.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><i>Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to <\/i><i>sports@dailywire.com<\/i><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a video posted to YouTube, Kumi Yokoyama \u2014 a soccer player on Japan\u2019s women\u2019s national team, as well as the Washington Spirit \u2014 came out as a transgender man. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2281015,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1315554169.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Japanese Soccer Player On Women\u2019s World Cup Team Comes Out As Transgender Man","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-570834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1315554169.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Japanese Soccer Player On Women\u2019s World Cup Team Comes Out As Transgender Man","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2281015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}