The trans athlete debate has entered a new phase after the current president signed an executive order forcing the NCAA to ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports. Opinions are very charged and polarized on this subject, with many stronger opinions born out of fear and ignorance. As a mental health clinician, I like to see all athletes enjoy sport competition, and I hate to see anyone discriminated against. So lets unpack the trans athlete debate and separate fact from fiction.
Disadvantages already existed, long before trans athletes
When have sports really ever been “fair?” Just look at any youth sport team and you will immediately see big differences in size and weight — is that “fair?” Is it “fair” to play against a private school that recruits the best athletes? Is it “fair” for one school with minimal resources, to play another school with an abundance of resources? Is it “fair” to load up a youth sports team with all travel kids? Probably not, yet we see these situations all the time. The point is that sports, like life, isn’t always fair — and this reality has been around long before the trans-ban ever took place.
Yes, when we see an example like the case of Lia Thomas a few years ago, critics immediately argued about the physical advantages Thomas had competing against biological females. Candidly, Thomas did appear to have physical size advantages comparing her to the field, but don’t we see size differences regularly within the same biological gender during sport competitions anyway? For example, how do average sized kids compete in basketball against the kid who is 6″10″ and simply needs the ball lobbed to him for uncontested dunks? Do other kids, mostly under 6′, really have a chance? Even the average height for the WNBA is over 6 feet, leaving most girls at a height disadvantage if they are closer to the average height for a girl. This is not to say it was fair (or unfair) for Thomas to look physically bigger than her competition, but only to point out we already see dramatic size differences within the same biological gender in sports.
Size differences are not limited to basketball — how would you feel if your high school football athlete had to go up against an unusually big, 300+ pound offensive lineman? Again, your child is at an incredible size disadvantage, and it has nothing to do with trans athletes. What about if your son had to go up against Michael Phelps in swimming — an Olympic swimmer born with a very swim-conducive body (in addition to his amazing workouts). And yet another example might be when your child goes up against another kid who has parents that were both former college D1 athletes — do you think there might be a big genetic advantage here?
The point here is not to encourage disadvantages, but to acknowledge that long before trans athletes became an issue we were already dealing with dramatic differences among sport competitors!
There simply aren’t that many trans athletes competing
The next question we need to examine relates to the number of trans athletes, and were there really that many that federal mandates had to be implemented? While securing accurate data is challenging, a 2019 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that approximately 1.8% of high school students in the U.S. identify as transgender, and that a much smaller percentage of these kids compete as student athletes. In Utah, the governor actually rejected a trans athlete ban in 2022, citing his heartfelt reasons as the following:
- There are a total of roughly 75,000 high school kids participating in high school sports in Utah in 2022.
- 4 transgender kids playing high school sports in Utah.
- 1 transgender student playing girls sports.
- 86% of trans youth reporting suicidality.
- 56% of trans youth having attempted suicide.
As you can see, there simply are not many trans athletes competing in the first place, and any “disadvantages” you might witness are probably not any different than some of the same-gender kids your child competes against anyway. We don’t chastise the 7′ high school basketball player (clearly at a physical advantage over the other kids), but we react very differently when a trans athlete has a perceived advantage.
And finally, the comments about trans athletes being vulnerable to the point of suicidal ideology are very real, and absolutely should be discussed and considered when examining new rules and laws. Getting straight to the point, trans kids are incredibly vulnerable, and are often the targets of bullying and physical attacks. If your child were trans, would you be OK with that? You don’t have to understand why someone is trans, how it happened, or even what it means — hopefully when you see a kid dealing with these issues (be it your kid or someone else’s), you offer compassion instead of anger, help instead of bullying, and empathy instead of ridicule. You would want those qualities from others if it were your child, even if you can’t quite make sense of everything.
But what if it’s a moral argument?
Some critics of trans athletes seem to not care as much about the perceived biological advantages in sports, but are instead caught up in the morality related to trans athletes competing. To that point I respectfully ask what do religions worldwide espouse? It seems to me every religion around the world promotes love, empathy, care, and helping each other (unconditionally!). No biblical verse that I am aware of suggests to ostracize or belittle people, especially vulnerable groups of people. As we worry about a sports record potentially falling to a trans athlete, we seem to have forgotten all the golden rules, and being especially caring toward our most at risk.
Final thoughts
To my friends who practice religion, care about people, and understand that some people face unique challenges in life: How would you feel if people bullied, made fun, and were generally turned off by your kid? How would you feel? I can answer that for you — you would 100% want others to be kind to your child, and for your child to have access to all the same things other kids have access to in this world. So why not extend that exact same thinking to others?? Trans kids do not choose to be trans to “win more games,” or “dominate the competition,” but they instead seek the joys of playing sports with other kids. No need to overthink this one, and definitely no need for further discrimination, not if helping kids live well and avoid mental health challenges is the goal. I can appreciate how some people might initially experience “fear of the unknown” when encountering a trans athlete, but I also hope this can be a moment of growth and reflection, and an opportunity to treat others exactly how you would like to be treated.
drstankovich.com
