Amid all the debate about gender identity and fairness in sports, there's a simple, unflinching test that cuts through the noise: a tug of war.

Take ten biological men and ten biological women. Match them pound for pound. Equal weight. Equal number. Equal rope.

Let them pull.

No ideology. No hashtags. No lengthy panel discussions about hormone levels, transition timelines, or subjective feelings. Just a contest of physics and biology. And the outcome -- as anyone who's played on a field or in a gym knows -- won't surprise you.

This is not cruelty. It's not bigotry. It's not a denial of anyone's dignity or humanity. It's a defense of truth -- the kind that lives in the fibers of your muscles and the architecture of your bones. Testosterone, bone density, fast-twitch muscle fibers -- these are not opinions. They're facts.

And when fairness matters -- as it does in competitive sports -- facts should matter, too.

To say men and women are physically different is not to deny anyone's right to express themselves, live with freedom, or be treated with respect. It's simply to say that identity cannot override biology when bodies are in direct competition. The rope doesn't care how you identify. Gravity doesn't negotiate. Force doesn't bend to ideology.

So before rewriting the rules of women's sports, ask yourself: which side of the rope would you bet on? And why?

That's not hate. That's honesty.

And if we can't be honest -- even about a tug of war -- then what kind of game are we really playing?