There is another champion male athlete who has transitioned into a woman and is facing the same fear at Caitlyn Jenner did before she admitted that she is a transgender woman.
While champion powerlifter Matt "Kroc" Kroczaleski had introduced herself to the public as Janae Marie, she is still deciding if she would compete as a man or woman over concerns of generating hate. When Caitlyn received her Arthur Ashe Award for Courage from ESPY, some groups questioned if the former Olympian deserved the award.
Janae says that the powerlifting community as well as the public is divided on her coming gender transition since she received both support and hate.
Janae announced her gender transition on Instagram where she posted that Kroc is now a "transgender/genderfluid Alpha male/girl Lesbian in a male body."
"I'm hesitant because I'm afraid it would do more harm than good. I'm afraid it's a no-win situation because if I win people will say it's not fair, it's cheating and I'm afraid that it would stir up a lot of people protesting against transgender athletes and I would never want to do anything to harm the transgender community," TMZ quotes Janae.
Janae's apprehension has basis because in the case of Caitlyn, some groups are petitioning for the International Olympic Committee to strip Jenner of the gold medals she won in the 1970s as Bruce because of her recent admission that even then, she felt she was a woman trapped in a man's body.
Janae, creator of the Kroc row back workout, was the titleholder for the 220-pound division in 2009. He then earned the title by squatting 1,003 pounds, benching 738 pounds and deadlifting 810, or a total of 2,551 pounds.
A testicular cancer survivor in 2004 who used to be a skinny and small child, Janae recommends the workout for anybody - from beginners to pro-level athletes - who seek to gain size and strength on their upper back, according to an article she wrote in Bodybuilding.com.