When I was a little kid in elementary school, I vividly remember being looked over by the boys when they would pick groups for basketball at recess.
They would pick their best friends, leaving just a handful of girls to choose whatever teams they wanted to be on. Ultimately, we got no playing time.
Now imagine being a transgender woman in high school and being told that you cannot compete in any school sports because you were bold enough to grow into who you really are.
Devastating.
Trans women should be able to participate in sports under the correct conditions.
In April, the Biden administration released draft rules that rule out blanket bans and instead allow schools receiving federal funding to block the participation of trans athletes based on a host of criteria.
That there’s a need for a national standard is in no doubt. According to ESPN, since 2020, “23 states have passed laws restricting transgender athletes’ ability to participate in school sports in accordance with their gender identity.”
What can be done to help trans athletes participate in sports?
As it stands, the NCAA requires testosterone testing for trans athletes, which is outlined in its Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Policy. This requires trans athletes to provide documentation of their sports standard testosterone level three times: prior to any competition during the regular season, prior to the first competition in an NCAA championship event and prior to any competition in the non-championship segment.
Beginning Aug. 1, 2024, the NCAA will ask trans athletes to provide documentation “no less than twice annually.” This could include testosterone levels, a timeline of body changes and other information.
This is a good start for athletics to implement rules for trans athletes to be able to play. But these rules are still not set by any type of school below a collegiate level.
In April, NPR interviewed Dr. Eric Vilain, a geneticist who advises sports organizations on trans athletes, on “All Things Considered.” He was asked multiple questions about trans athletes’ rights.
“Who’s going to undertake all the necessary research to demonstrate a disproportionate advantage, sport by sport, at so many different ages?” Vilain asked. “Who will fund this? Likely not the school systems.”
Vilain highlighted the fact that high schools and elementary schools already don’t provide their cisgender students with exciting athletic opportunities due to socioeconomic and access issues.
This is why, at the national level, our administration needs to make stricter rules surrounding trans athletes – rules that will take away regional and political bias.
As a female myself, I can see why people are hesitant to allow trans women to compete in sports.
Title IX, which allows women to receive the same opportunities as their male counterparts, was only passed 50 years ago. Women have fought for equal rights for all of history and still are fighting today.
But surely that allows women to understand what trans athletes are going through right now.
More tests have to be conducted on trans athletes, sport by sport; trans athletes aren’t going to disappear.
According to the USAspending.gov, the U.S. government spent $1.52 trillion on the Department of Defense in 2023. Perhaps taking some of those funds and putting them toward the rights of people of our nation isn’t a bad idea.
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