The Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) has issued a six-month suspension to Anne Andres, a trans identified male competing in women’s powerlifting, for uttering threats and engaging in a campaign of harassment towards several women and sports officials.
Andre’s six-month suspension was recommended by ITP Sports, an arbitrator brought in by the CPU after Andres targeted several women, as well at the Alberta Powerlifting Union (APU), and the CPU, with abuse, death threats, and harassment. In their disciplinary ruling, made based on the decisions of a panel, the CPU deemed Andres’ words “harmful, disparaging, insulting, or otherwise negative.”
In his response to the original complaint which led to his suspension, Andres simply said “Fuck the APU.” They noted that Andres demonstrated “a lack of remorse” despite having removed several of his harassing posts from his social media accounts.
Andres’ conduct included threatening to commit suicide if the APU refused to comply with his demands, lying about having been banned from the female sports category, and bullying and harassing the APU’s executive board.
The anonymous CPU member who brought a complaint against Andres said that she felt Andres had been racist and made her uncomfortable after comparing himself to black women historically forced to use separate drinking fountains than white women. The complainant herself is a black woman. Andres also falsely accused the CPU, APU, International Powerlifting Federation (IPF), and sports officials of wanting access to his medical records and to also, bizarrely, “look at the genitals of kids.”
In an online post referring to both female powerlifter April Hutchinson and Alberta premier Danielle Smith, who this year introduced legislation to protect female sports categories from trans-identified males, Andres wrote:
“That fucking terrible human being from Ontario makes profits off of hate… that self-righteous bitch… goes and talks about how a trans basketball player is hurting women by playing… You fucking 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.”
In a separate Instagram post, Andres said that he was “wishing death upon” Hutchinson.
But despite only handing Andres a 6-month suspension for his menacing abuse, the CPU had previously suspended Hutchinson for two years for calling Andres “a male” and advocating for female-only sports. After a legal appeal, Hutchinson reduced her suspension to one year.
Speaking to Reduxx, Hutchinson explained that she had called Calgary police after hearing Andres make death threats towards her in videos posted online. She said the Calgary police attended Andres’ home and spoke to him, but that nothing further came out of her complaint.
Should Andres wish to return and compete against women after his 180-day suspension, he will first have to complete the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport “True Sport Clean” education course, as well as their “Abuse-Free Sport Safe Sport Training” course.
Canadian sports performance coach and author Dr. Linda Blade said that Andres’ suspension is not adequate. “The double-standard is breathtaking: the female gets one year for polite disagreement; the male gets only six months for toxic and abusive commentary,” Blade, whose book “Unsporting” is out now, told Reduxx.
Hutchinson is similarly outraged by the metaphorical slap on the wrist handed to Andres.
“Federations, government, and society as whole care more about a man’s hurt feelings and mental health than women’s safety and fairness in sport. I started this fight for fairness not just for myself but for the future of all women’s and girls’ sports,” she said, but added that she was undeterred in her mission to protect women’s sport and return to elite powerlifting.
“I have two beautiful nieces that deserve fair and safe sports when they grow up. I should never have been suspended for fighting for fairness and speaking biological facts—but I would do it all over again. The good news is that in the end I had the powerlifting policy changed at a national and international level. If I can stress one thing it is for women to speak up and use their voices—this is how changes happen. I am looking forward to competing again at Nationals 2025.”
Hutchinson’s advocacy led to changed International Powerlifting Federation rules that force trans-identified males to submit to testosterone and other monitoring requirements. The IPF sets policy for the CPU, which was also forced to change their policy as a result.
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