Showdown Looms On Trans Athletes
The federal government may withhold key dollars for New Haven’s magnet school program if New Haven does not agree to ban transgender athletes from their chosen sports teams.
The New Haven Board of Education Wednesday night vowed to fight what it called strong-arm tactics, in court if necessary.
“This is effectively extortion, taking away funding from our public schools in order to put us in position where we go against important policies,” said Mayor Justin Elicker, a board member.
At stake is roughly $6 million over the course of two years, in the form of theFederal Magnet Schools Assistance Program Grant. This covers specialized programming at magnet schools like Davis Street, King/Robinson and High School in the Community.
The board held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss arecent decision from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights that allowing transgender athletes to participate in the sports team of the gender they identify as discriminates against other athletes on that team. This follows a suit filed by the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf ofthree female, Connecticut athletes.
New Haven needs OCR to sign off on the magnet school grant because it is an equity-related grant intended tohelp integrate schools. The board voted unanimously on Monday to appeal OCR’s decision within the Department of Education if OCR does not sign off on the grant. They also voted unanimously to pursue further legal action if the department turns down their appeal.
“We’ve been singled out. Other people that are getting funding for magnet schools are not having this pressure put on them,” said board member Ed Joyner.
OCR has targeted the few Connecticut districts that receive MSAP dollars with a new nondiscrimination assurance. This new document requires the district to exclude trans athletes from their sports teams of their choosing. The board said that they will not sign this document.
Board members argued that these new decisions from OCR arepolitical moves by the Trump administration at the cost of largely academic programs for Connecticut students.
“This whole thing has really saddened me. It is so hurtful to see this administration try to make us discriminate against anyone,” said board member Tamiko Jackson-McArthur. “I am so proud of my colleagues that we will be standing up to this crap, because that’s what it is.”
“This is an attempt to fire up a base for the election and that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to educate kids. We may not agree on all the things all of the time but we certainly agree on this one,” said board member Darnell Goldson.
Superintendent Iline Tracey pointed out that New Haven Public Schools gets other federal grants and wondered how else the district might be affected.
“They will not stop unless they are stopped,” Joyner answered.
“Part Of A Larger Plan”
Karleigh Webb, a writer forOutsports.com and a crisis operator for Trans Lifeline, sees New Haven’s predicament as part of a larger attack on public schools and trans rights by the Trump administration andby Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in particular.
“Betsy DeVos has spent her adult life trying to destroy public education and has spent an immense amount of herfamily’s fortune to that end,” Webb said.
“Especially at this time when we have kids going back to school, dealing with this Covid crisis, we are going to need help. For them to try to threaten to withhold help, I find that vulgar.”
Webb said that cutting aid attempts to pit marginalized people against one another.
“Who gets hurt the most? The most vulnerable. Then you get the bigger picture of what this is really about, trying to cut one group of marginalized off from another group that is just as marginalized,” Webb said.
Webb said that trans students are one of the easiest groups within the LGBTQ spectrum to target, because trans people do not have the kind of nationwide acceptance that cisgender lesbian and gay peoplehave achieved in recent years. If successful, she expects the sports ban to be followed by a locker room ban and then a bathroom ban and attacks on other parts of the spectrum.
“They can do same to trans college, to trans working people, and take away our public accommodations piece by piece,” Webb said.
Webb said that trans teenagers are particularly vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic when college and high school students must spend more time at home with families who may not accept their identities.
“Then they turn on the news. Seeing that simply put, the people in charge of running the country don’t consider you part of the country, or even human—it’s bound to affect you,” Webb said.
Webb encouraged other local governments to follow the example of New Haven andStamford in resolving to fight any attempts to pit public school funding against trans rights.
“Since Donald Trump has gotten into office, trans people have been under siege. We’re trying to stand in the bunker with each other the best way we can. Every time someone stands up [like New Haven did], it helps ease that siege a little bit. But that siege is there,” Webb said.
38 replies on “Showdown Looms On Trans Athletes”
A list of the gender of every high school athlete seems like invasive overreach by our government.
Minimal interference in economy, maximum interference in morality?Republicans have a despicable history of manipulating tangential funding to deny people the right to something Republicans find repugnant. And they call themselves the party of individual freedom. What a laugh.
That being said and ignoring the paranoid fantasy of a fraudulent cis -gendered male temporarily reassigning to sweep women’s events, biological facts seem to remain. Even if local school sports puts a cap on trans-women’s testosterone levels (as does the IOC) from what I’ve read, men are still born with larger bone structure, and higher bone density, and stronger connective tissue, and higher muscle density. Those things don’t change significantly after altered hormone levels. Maybe I’m wrong and if so would appreciate a correction from a medical professional. If I’m right the question is, is that fair?I ran cross country in high school. I was terrible. Nonetheless, I was easily faster than all the girls’ team with whom we practiced jointly. Had I been on the girls’ team I would have been the star. On the boys’ team, I was an also-ran. I was faster than the girls due to my male build.
Instead of men’s and women’s sports, how about differentiating between humans with xx-chromosome and humans with xy-chromosome? Would that address the issue?
robn: This isn’t an issue of fundamental freedom, it’s an issue of equality of opportunity for women. If we just wanted equality, we would not have women’s sports. A few exceptional women might be able to qualify for men’s teams, but most female athletes would have no opportunities for competitive play. Even in non-contact sports like golf or tennis, women cannot compete with men. Annika Sorenstam went back to women’s events after one PGA try.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-09-01-sp-25868-story.html1644
I agree with the intent, but disagree with the methods. It’s obnoxious for Republicans to hold broad program funding hostage over tangential issues. But, like their refusal to consider Obama’s SCOTUS nominations, it’s a dastardly deed much in their character and not surprising.
I do not believe transgender females should be allowed to compete with cisgender females. It denies opportunity to cisgender females, it denies fair and safe competition. Wrestling and MMA are examples where cisgender competitors can be severely injured.
HOWEVER, the Feds should not be holding back funding that is academic in purpose. They are holding the academic achievement of magnet students hostage. I hope the appeal is accepted and they find another way to ensure the rights of cisgender female athletes are considered.robn: I expect if I tried I could find lots of examples of Democrats doing the same. As reported by NPR recently, and exemplified in this article, neither side believes in democratic processes. Both sides are convinced of the moral superiority of their values, and want to impose their values on everyone by whatever means they can. The left cheered Obama’s executive orders, rules and “guidelines” regarding transgender rights, sexual harassment in schools, and other issues and sought court orders to avoid the legislative process to impose its values. Trump is, more clumsily, doing the same.
Our self segregation continuous. .The trans movement came to the forefront the day after same-sex marriages became law by the federal government but this offers another conundrum to “progressives.” What happens when a transgender takes the spot of a college student-athlete? Pioneers in woman’s sports like Billie Jean King spoke out against the inclusion of forty three year old Renee Richards (1955 Yale Univ. Men’s Tennis Capt.) in the 1977 Woman’s Draw at the US Open. Martina Navratilova received flak for speaking against trans-athletes entering woman’s events. Years ago in a documentary on Richards, Sport Journalist and former tennis pro Mary Carrillo off handedly asked “Would a parent or a student athlete want to change genders in order to gain a scholarship or trophy?” Would an athlete take steroids’ to gain an advantage? Would you cheer for a University of Connecticut playing for Geno Auriemma who was the size of Lebron James or even had the same chromosomes as Steph Curry?
A few things:
The initial lawsuit in Connecticut was filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, and anti-LGBT group that has filed suit against bathroom bills and rails against the “homosexual agenda”:https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/alliance-defending-freedom
Make no mistake — the purpose of this case is to demean and undermine trans identities. High school sports just provide a convenient excuse for bad faith actors to get reasonable people to agree that trans girls *are really boys, though, right?* When a person says, “I respect trans people and their identities, UNLESS” or “trans girls are girls EXCEPT FOR” what they are really saying is “trans girls can wear a dress or whatever, but they’re really boys and I’m only willing to indulge them as far as a doesn’t make make personally uncomfortable.”
Even taking for granted that trans girls have a genetic advantage over cis girls — a “genetic advantage” factors into the success of nearly every gifted athlete. Abnormally tall cis-gender athletes, or those with higher-than-average lung capacity have “genetic advantages.” Why single this one out?
Finally — the number of trans people in any given population is pretty small. The number of trans girls and women even smaller. The number of trans girls and women with the desire to play competitive sports even smaller still, and of those even fewer have any kind of athletic talent at all. This does not have the potential to be an earth-shattering problem. But wringing hands over whether trans girls are valid in this context ripples out well beyond. And, like I said, that’s the point.
Gender identity is not the equivalent of gender biology – no matter how much some would wish it so. The non-elite member of any male sports team would always have a physical competitive advantage against most, and probably all, of the members of a female sports team. Guys, by the time they have reached their teens, have had the musculature benefit of testosterone. Even with testosterone reducing medications (which reduces testosterone levels only by about 10%), the basic male structure has already been formed, (larger skeletal frames, larger lung capacity, etc.), ensuring their physical advantage. If the fear is discrimination against trans girls/women, think for a minute about the real fear of discrimination against biological girls/women.
CUNNINGHAM,
I’m sure you’re right about right wing intentions. Mine however, aren’t to discriminate but to point out that in competitive sports there’s (on average) a biological advantage for those born male.
1644,
Then find those examples. But make sure they aren’t false equivalencies or I’m calling BS.
For instance, Obama’s not wanting companies to reduce their employees access to birth control (Hobby Lobby) is not the same as the Trump administration threatening to withhold broad police funding from so called sanctuary cities. The first is affirming rights with legislation, the second is denying rights with an executive machete cutting all tangential funding. Of course in the case of Hobby Lobby, the republicans did an end run with the stacked SCOTUS; further reinforcing my point about their fascistic tendencies. You are on the wrong side of history my friend.
@robn
“in competitive sports there’s (on average) a biological advantage for those born male.”A point which I concede, but maintain is less important than other considerations on the subject. All other things considered, who cares of trans athletes have a physical edge over their cis peers on the field? They’re disadvantaged almost everywhere else, and, again, the number of athletically competitive trans athletes is small enough that they present no broad, existential threat to girls’ sports. Who cares?
CUNNINGHAM,
People who care about fairness in sports care. The same people that don’t allow steroids, blood doping, etc. The fairness phrase “level playing field” literally comes from sports.
To me the fair and simple thing would be to allow trans-women to compete with cis-men.
robn: Your comment illustrates my point: you believe your values are morally superior, so the means to enact them are unjustified. A SCOTUS opinion should be respected when it is Lawrence v. Texas, but not Bowers v. Hardwick. Why? Because you disagree with Bowers, and agree with Lawrence. Contrary examples are false equivalencies because in your values system Hobby Lobby’s rights are not equivalent to its employees’ rights. You are upstanding, those who hold different values are fascist.
1644,
Incorrect. I believe that the unscrupulous and often hypocritical means used by Republicans to achieve their ends are fascistic and therefore morally inferior. I’m consistent. They are not. That conservative Christians could vote for Trump after his repeated misogynistic behavior illustrates it pretty clearly. But there are many many other examples; unfortunately.
What about people who were born with both gender’s biological characteristics (the historic term used was hermaphrodite,) or were born with indeterminate gender at birth and assigned a gender? What about cisgender females with an excess of testosterone, or cisgendered males with an excess of estrogen? Which sports team do they get to play on? While I have sympathy for cisgender females who may have a biological disadvantage from some trans females, there are people who don’t neatly fit into a gender assignment and they deserve to play sports, too.
@cunningham: As it should always be when statements such, “athletically competitive trans athletes is/are small enough”, are used to justify an argument, show me the actual numbers which you refer to – (2%, 5%, ?%, do we know?). Also, “small enough” is a very subjective term. “Small enough” for who? “Small enough” for those cisgender girls/women who compete and lose against gender identity athletes who are allowed to compete against them? By your logic, we are to use a form of discrimination against one group (cisgender girls/women athletes) to fix perceived discrimination against another group (trans/gender identity athletes). Finally, and just for debate, let’s say that the numbers of trans athletes are very small. If all the laws, regulations, and guidelines prohibiting trans athletes from competing directly with cisgender athletes were done away with, how long do you think it would take before “small enough” became very widespread?
I can just about guarantee that this is the first and only time that the president, his administration or any of his supporters have ever given a s… about “equality of opportunity for women.”
Robn: What am I incorrect on? That you supported Bowers as much as Lawrence? That you, who use words like inferior and fascist, do not consider your values morally superior? Feminists supported Bill Clinton in spite of his history of using subordinates for sexual pleasure because he supported abortion rights, but could you equate that to conservative Christians’ support of Trump because he enacts policies that support their values, even while he personally does not live them? Or is that a false equivalency? Is it not false because you agree with Clinton’s policies, while you disagree with Trump’s?
1644,
Republicans and you love diversion but I’m not falling for it. The means of achieving ones ends count.
@owen
1) The most commonly cited poll I can find says that about 0.7% of young adults identify as transgender. About two thirds of trans people generally are trans women (versus trans men), so trans girls make up (roughly) 0.46% of the population. And about half of all high school kids play sports. Assuming this holds for the trans girl population, trans girl athletes might make up about 0.23% of high school kids. Very, very rough numbers here.
2) There are currently no “laws, regulations, and guidelines prohibiting trans athletes from competing directly with cisgender athletes” in Connecticut. Just the opposite, in fact. This is about the federal government trying to IMPOSE those guidelines. So, with no official barriers on trans girls competing in with cis girls, we have like, one case in the entire state where some cis girl athletes felt aggrieved enough to sue (at least, when a bigoted hate group foots the bill).
3) “how long do you think it would take before “small enough” became very widespread?”
I don’t think that will happen, because I don’t think trans girls are lying boys trying to cheat at sports or sneak into bathrooms. And any boys dumb enough to actually try that kind of thing will get caught onto pretty quickly.4) My position starts here: trans girls are girls. It’s not discrimination to allow them to compete with cis girls. Beginning from the assumption that trans girls are girls, it’s discriminatory to say “some girls play with other girls, and some with boys.” Yes, some girls are faster and stronger than others — cis and trans alike.
5) If that makes people uncomfortable or seem unfair to people, perhaps we should consider doing away with gendered leagues altogether. Maybe sports should all be co-ed, with “classes” based on performance rather than gender or sex, something like weight classes in boxing.
6) Trans girls are girls.
If my daughter, granddaughter,great-granddaughter lost out on a college sports scholarship because it was given to someone who was transgender, I certainly would not be happy nor would any commenter here. Could you imagine grandpop having to console his granddaughter and try to justify the uneven playing field. Or a mother to her daughter. about the world not being fair. I coached female sports for 25 years and I can honestly say that everyone of the 400 mother’s that I met in that time would not take this lightly. The young ladies in CT bringing this to court are the brave ones. They have already lost out on opportunities ( State Invitationals) due to this issue. The only right thing to do is to create another category, so you would have male, female and open. Letting this continue will only bring more discrimination and heartache to these transgender individuals who also deserve the opportunity to play sports
robn: You are the one you brought up conservative Christians’ support of someone who does not live their values. How is that not a diversion? As far as means, I agree. Did you support Obama’s end run around Congress, enacting DACA by executive order when he could not get legislation he wanted passed? Or should he have honored his oath and faithfully executed immigration law as it was enacted by Congress? Was Obama’s executive order okay because it helped poor people, while Trump’s revocation was wrong because it hurt people? Most of the legal arguments against the revocation were not actually about the process (although that won the swing vote), but about how revocation would hurt people. Obama used “guidance”, not even formal rules, to push schools on sexual harassment and trans rights. Should he not have gone to Congress to enact legislation if he wanted rights for trans people? That’s what happened for ethnicity, race, etc., but Congress repeated rejected federal expansion to sexual orientation, let alone transgender people. Would it have been wrong of the Obama Administration to use its interpretation of discrimination on the grounds of sex, which included gays and trans people, to withhold federal funds? Even though Congress never intended such inclusions when it enacted the legislation?
Cunningham-Athletics are physical in nature and should be based on biology. Period. We should not dismantle the structure to appease those not happy with their biological make-up.
Cisgender female athletes are having their rights under Title IX infringed upon. If this adversely impacted cisgender male athletes, it would have already been shut down.
I see female athletes getting fed up with this and refusing to compete. I wouldn’t blame them.How many of you Remember Dr.Renée Richards.
“I never would have been allowed to play on the women’s tour if I was a ‘trans’ something. But now it’s a third category. It’s not male-female. It’s gender fluidity. It’s something in between …. I am as bewildered by it as the average person. But look, things are different now. The world changes.”
Dr.Renée Richards.
She’s a Transgender Pioneer, But Renée Richards Prefers to Stay Out of the Spotlight.
US Open On This Day: Renee Richards vs. Virginia Wade
And Virginia Wade the women won the game.
If you look at results and photos from the Connecticut High School State Track and Field championships for the girls sprints, it’s pretty clear that the races weren’t “fair”.
Which right trumps the other: the right to a fair playing field in high school sports for biologic females or the right to participation in their chosen gender for non biologic transgender females. It’s a really tricky question, politically, philosophically, legally, and ethically.
@cunningham: Respectfully, but biological males who feel they are females will always and forever remain biological males, no matter what you or they or anyone else thinks. Simply and to the point – this is science. Feel free to call yourself whatever you want, have friends and advocates call you whatever you want them to call you. The bottom line is that in a direct sports competition, biological males should not be competing against biological females. In the Olympics, the World Games, and numerous other competitive sports competitions, there have been many instances where “female” individuals, competing against other females, have been stripped of their medals/awards because of their medically increased testosterone levels. Biological females should have the right to compete in a world that provides them with a level playing field. When we start flipping the script too often and one that is too accommodating, we run the serious risk of simply pandering to causes that are unreasonable and unfair.
This is so blatantly discriminatory against biological women that I’m surprised anyone would support it. Are we so blindly opposed to Trump that we’re willing to allow our biological daughters to become big losers in the sports world just so his administration wont get its way?
@ Cunningham…
“6) Trans girls are girls.”
Agreed in all ways except athletically. They just aren’t the same as the other girls they are competing against. It’s not a matter of being comfortable or uncomfortable with the idea of trans girls being girls. Because I fully support your point #6 in every other conceivable way. But all emotional and social justice components need to be removed from this conversation or what we are left with is just another confused and/or false narrative. This is simply a matter of basic human biology and physics. Most every variety of organized sport has endeavored to balance competition with age, weight and gender classifications and distinctions because otherwise physical/athletic competition would lack fairness. Period. And it goes even further. Youth sports even makes classification distinctions between school sizes to take into consideration the size of the talent pool that each school has to draw from. At the highest level of sports there is testing to ensure that women don’t take male hormones to enhance their performance. Does anyone honestly think that (using this example) high level non trans women olympic athletes who cheat by ingesting male hormones are doing this because it DOESN’T provide a performance advantage? Why else would they do it? Forgetting everything else… if this one fact in and of itself is not the most clear and simple, unbiased, emotionally, politically, scientifically neutral example of why allowing trans girls to compete athletically against non trans girls is not OK then I don’t know what else to say. This should be about science not politics. Any other argument is just clouding what IMO should be a very short and concise debate.
also @ Cunninghamn…
Having said all that I am also not opposed to the idea of parallel co-ed sports with a deemphasis on cut throat competition. This might allow for greater participation and access to healthy activities, fitness, group dynamics and all the fun, lessons and metaphors that are (hopefully) why sports exist in the first place. Or at least the level of sports that is generally at the center of this debate… amateur/scholastic level sports which are generally taxpayer funded and as a result should include provisions for fair access to all who might want to participate.
JMS: Yes, my experience, mostly in college, were we occasionally had men’s, women’s and co-ed intra-mural teams in the same sports, was the men’s and women’s teams were highly competitive, while the co-ed teams were more about having fun and meeting members of the opposite sex. In high school, athletics were a mandatory means to burn off violent, adolescent energy in a controlled environment with ambulances waiting. The sweet girls from math class became stick-wielding terrors on the field hockey or lacrosse fields.
@3/5ths. While Dr. Richards lost in the first round against Virginia Wade who had won Wimbledon in 1977 at the time Dr. Richards was 43 years old. However in that same tournament Richards reached the Doubles final losing to a young Martina Navatrilova and Betty Stove in a close 3 set match. At the age of 45 Richards made it to the 3rd round of the US Open had victories over future top ranked hall of fame players and was Grand Slam winner in the 35 and over divisions. In High School Richards was a top pitcher and football player, went on to captain Yales tennis team. How would a 22 year old Richards do on the womans tour? Other little tidbits. Before the womans World Cup, the Megan Ripone US National Team was trounced by The US National 15 year old Boys Team.
Robn,
If you surprised that conservative Christians are voting for Trump, you will shocked to learn that progressives and most social justice warriors are backing the candidate that was the architect of the 1994 crime bill, was a vocal supporter of the invasion of Iraq, and is against Medicare for all. But really it’s just the Republicans who abandon their values to support their candidate
FITZY,
Democrats haven’t spent that last 50 years telling everyone else that a pretend guy in the sky demands they behave the way some preachers want them to.
“We’ve been singled out. Other people that are getting funding for magnet schools are not having this pressure put on them,” said board member Ed Joyner.” Probably because they are complying with the current interpretation of the law or it is an “apples & oranges” comparison.- (Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes Violates Title IX – Trump administration.) The NHBOE knowing that lawsuits and appeals often take forever are probably hoping that Biden wins the election in Nov. and relaxes or changes Trump’s interpretation of Title IX.
” missthenighthawks” comment is spot on and about sums it up!!
“Are we so blindly opposed to Trump that we’re willing to allow our biological daughters to become big losers in the sports world just so his administration wont get its way?”The fact that a lawsuit was filed is probably driving this action more than the ‘Trump administration’.(see link provided in article) but it is so much easier to assemble the pitchforks and torches by inserting Trumps name.
“Soule and two other girls filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in June arguing that their Title IX rights have been violated by a policy that they say pits girls against athletes who are biologically male despite their female gender identity. They contend the situation has robbed them of top finishes and possibly college scholarships.”
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