“Transgender athletes face outright discrimination and unfair treatment.”

   Corban Gobble, Staff Writer

 Transgender athletes face outright discrimination and unfair treatment.

   An article from CNS news boldly opens with statements regarding transgender athlete Lia Thomas breaking records, stating “the problem? Thomas is biologically a male.” However, articles such as these are outright taboo, and furthermore, fail to recognize fair solutions and preventative countermeasures that other sports companies have enforced regarding transgender competitive balance.

   It’s important to first recognize the legitimacy of transgender identification. “Gender Dysphoria” is best defined as personal discomfort with one-self’s born gender characteristics; it is scientifically recognized as a legitimate discomfort in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association to diagnose mental disorders and patterns.

   In an age of growing recognition and acceptance of the LGTBQ+ community, cases of transgender athletes changing to their now-appropriate teams are increasing – and so is the friction that follows.

   Preventing transgender athletes from swapping teams, or stopping them from competing altogether, has been proposed numerous times in legal settings both locally and nationally. The question is, how do we reach a solution that fairly allows transgender athletes to compete, if at all?

   “With my own experience, people are just there to compete, no-one is worried about what’s in your pants, and instead are worried about if you are a team player or not,” states a current GBHS student. “To switch teams to gain an advantage is a very edge-case incident – the State of Florida has not even had any scandals regarding the abuse of transgender team swapping.”

   The Olympic guidelines prove to be fair with transgender acceptance by requiring hormonal balance to be reasonable and comparable to their cisgender equivalents. Positive changes that welcome transgender athletes have been much more well-received than the changes committed by 10 U.S. states, including Texas.

   The most recent change to their transgender guidelines includes an introduction that states “every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination and in a way that respects their health, safety and dignity.”

   Critics claim that by allowing transgender athletes to compete, the scale is left unbalanced. However, this simply is not true: no transgender athlete, given the proper balance of hormones, has had a disproportionate advantage over competitors.

   The Oxford University Press’s “Good Sport” commented on this, pointing out that despite public caution, transgender competitors have no recorded advantage; in all our time, not one of these athletes have ever worked up the ranks in competitions disproportionately.

   By treating transgender athletes as outliers, as opposed to normal competitors in sports, we are widening a gap in equality between transgender people and the rest of society. In other words, what rule-makers decide in regards to guidelines can have drastic and incredibly dangerous consequences.

   “There is ample evidence that an opportunity for adolescents to participate in sports results in positive outcomes, such as better grades, greater homework completion, higher educational and occupational aspirations, and improved self-esteem,” notes an article from the American Psychological Association. “Additionally, excluding any subset of girls from sports can encourage divisiveness and compromise group cohesion, undermining the benefits all youth deserve from team sports… All youth should have access to the benefits of sports.

“Transgender athletes should only be able to play for their birth team unless they have gone through extensive medical procedures to do everything they can to become the gender they wish to become.”

   Derek Scott, News Editor

  Everyone has at least one sport that they enjoy doing. Many of these sports are com-petitive and often split between leagues for men and women. But what about those who are transgender? Transgender athletes have been in limbo since they’re not able to play for the gender that represents them.

   Many organizations are unsure where to place these athletes. Across the United States, many are imposing bans on transgender athletes for fear of them having an advantage. Those who have not imposed bans require athletes to play for gender they were at birth.

   Transgender athletes tend to have a competitive advantage when playing for the gender that they want to.

   Lia Thomas is an Ivy League swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania. Thomas came out and said that she was a transgender woman. She was praised for coming out after setting records for women’s swimming.

   While many see nothing wrong with Thomas’ achievements, one notable transgender woman does. Caitlyn Jenner, a transgender Olympian herself, said in an interview to FOX News said “I respect her decision to live her life authentically,” but added that “We need to protect women’s sports.” Jenner was on the U.S. Olympic team as a man and set a world record in the decathlon back in 1976.

   The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) revised their rules on transgender athletes and their respective sports on Jan. 19. The policy takes effect with the 2022 winter championships. The policy changes require transgender athletes to check their testosterone levels four weeks before a season begins. The NCAA’s rules can still be a little vague as they state that they will take a “sport-by-sport approach” for transgender athletes.

   School boards and other organizations began talking about aligning their policies with the NCAA.

   While these policy changes address the issue of testosterone levels, they do not address the advantages that one might have based off body type. One’s body type can become a competitive advantage.

   Several states across the country began to introduce bills that would prevent transgender athletes from participating in sports entirely. Arizona, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, New Hampshire and South Dakota have introduced their own bills in 2022. The bills also deal with other aspects of transgender life.

   While I do believe that transgender athletes should have restrictions, I think an all out ban would simply be too much. Transgender athletes should only be able to play for their birth team unless they have gone through extensive medical procedures to do everything they can to become the gender they wish to become.