A trans-identified male is claiming that his human rights were violated after he was told he was not allowed to compete in a women’s cycling race and must enter in the male category.
Patti Flynn, formerly known as Patrick, is a Senior Consultant and Facilitator at the Equality Institute in Chicago, Illinois, which describes itself as a “boutique DEI firm.” The Institute states that its mission is to “help organizations fulfill the promise of diversity by embedding equity and inclusion into organizational systems and culture, enhancing outcomes for everyone.”
In addition to his work at the Equality Institute, he is also a personal trainer and the general manager at Edge Athletic Lounge, a gym in Chicago which models itself on its “inclusivity.” A staff member at Edge informed Reduxx that members are permitted to use whatever facilities align with their self-declared gender identity on a no-questions asked basis.
Flynn is involved in a sporting project which seeks to eliminate single-sex sports, describing itself as “fostering equitable and inclusive endurance events.” In a June 20 post to Instagram, he declared that sports competition categories should be “clearly defined” but also “allow participants to compete in identity-based categories.” Endurance races, he posted, should have “separate starts for women and non-binary individuals for a respectful racing environment.”
But most recently, Flynn is on a war path against CAMBr, the Chicago Area Mountain Bike Races, after being denied participation in the female category at two of their competitions in August. In an Instagram post, Flynn announced he was pursuing legal action against CAMBr as a result.
“I’m looking at the paperwork for filing a human rights complaint with the state and county for their failure to act to square up their rules in accordance with the anti-discrimination provisions of both Cook County and the state of Illinois. I wouldn’t turn down any legal help on filling out these forms,” he wrote.
The Instagram post was first brought to public attention by @i_heart__bikes, an anonymous female cyclist on X who advocates for single-sex sport and whistleblows on male participation in women’s cycling.
According to the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Human Rights Act does include “gender-related identity” as a protected characteristic in the context of “employment, housing, financial credit, and public accommodations.”
In the post, Flynn claimed he had previously competed in the women’s category of another Illinois competition, the Wausau 24 bicycle race, and says a fellow cyclist told him that CAMBr followed the same rules implemented by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for transgender athletes. Flynn goes on to say that the UCI rule is an “incredibly harsh and strict international elite and professional (UCI) rule for trans athletes that makes it impossible for me to compete.”
The UCI currently prohibits males from competing in female categories unless they meet five criteria: a signed medical declaration of their “female” gender identity; to have not gone through male puberty beyond age 12 or Tanner Stage 2; to have maintained—and continue to maintain—a serum testosterone level below 2.5 nmol/L since puberty; and to have all testosterone measurements performed via liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry tests.
CAMBr’s rulebook reveals that the organization follows a July 2023 UCI ruling, and that they do not allow trans-identified males who transitioned after puberty to compete against females. Biological males, regardless of their self-identification, must compete in the men’s category.
Flynn said that he approached CAMBr and asked them to change the rules for him, but was allegedly told that the organization would not change their “draconian” policy until 2025.
“They had 3 total women in the category I would race in at their first race. Clearly not interested in building women’s cycling, but to have a race for the boys to compete against each other… So meanwhile I may just go out and ride with friends instead. And I hope if you are riding Meltdown this weekend that you let the race organizers know that you support trans mountain bikers and show solidarity outwardly with signs or trans flag colors on you or your bike. This world seems to be getting more stupid and that’s super annoying,” posted Flynn.
Flynn is not the only trans-identified male targeting CAMBr for its sex-segregated categories. Earlier this month, Reddit user u/wordsthatendini” called attention to an online petition demanding CAMBr allow males to compete with women on the basis of their gender identity.
“Removing or amending this rule will drastically improve the cycling community by fostering a welcoming environment for all athletes. We believe delaying a potential change to 2025 does undue damage to the cycling community, and prevents participation in the here and now. CAMBr exists beyond race day, and being welcoming to all will help foster participation at future events, trail work, and advocacy,” the petition stated.
“Implementing this change immediately is easy, as these CAMBr events are not under the UCI or USAC sanctioned umbrella. It does not even bring CAMBr events in conflict with the USAC ruling. CAMBr simply needs to state that Transgender Women can compete as Women.”
The petition has since been closed, and replaced with a message that reads: “We are closing this form now so that we can allow CAMBr time to form a response. Remember, trans women are women!”
Reduxx reached out to CAMBr to request comment on Flynn’s threats of legal action, but the race organizer did not respond in time for publication.
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