Donald Trump Jr. has waded into the debate on transgender student-athletes, calling the first- and second-place finishes by two transgender girls at the Connecticut girl’s state track championship a “grave injustice.”
Terry Miller, of Bloomfield High School, and Andraya Yearwood, of Cromwell High School, won the top two spots in the 55-meter dash, with Miller setting a new state indoor record of 6.95 seconds, and Yearwood finishing in 7.01 seconds, according to The Associated Press. The third-place winner, Chelsea Mitchell, of Canton High School, finished with a time of 7.23 seconds.
Miller also won the 300-meter dash in a time of 40.13 seconds, ahead of her cisgender teammate Jillian Mars.
But many parents, as well as social conservatives, have objected to Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s policy allowing transgender athletes to compete for sports teams based on their gender identity.
Both athletes have garnered negative attention, with many arguing that the girls’ biological makeup gives them an unfair advantage over cisgender women athletes.
Donald Trump Jr. is one such critic, tweeting that he feels “sorry” for the other competitors.
I feel so sorry for the young ladies who trained their whole lives to be the best in their state and to hopefully attain scholarships etc etc… this is a grave injustice. https://t.co/cduhojza4B
Selina Soule, the eighth-place finisher at the state meet, told the AP that she was happy for Yearwood and Miller for being true to themselves, but felt that she missed out on an opportunity to compete in front of college coaches because she missed the cutoff for the New England Championships by two places — places that were taken by Miller and Yearwood.
Joanna Harper, a medical physicist who studies transgender health care and a transgender runner herself, argues that athletes’ participation in sports should be based on their hormone levels, which will vary based on individual health factors and the length of time that a person has been transitioning.
“The gender identity doesn’t matter, it’s the testosterone levels,” said Harper. “Trans girls should have the right to compete in sports. But cisgender girls should have the right to compete and succeed, too. How do you balance that? That’s the question.”
But Harper also warned that the issue cannot be solved using a one-size-fits-all mentality. For instance, she wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post, when it comes to long distance running, cisgender athletes are on equal footing with transgender athletes who have successfully transitioned. But when it comes to sprinting, those with more muscle mass may have an advantage.
Transgender females may gain advantages, due to their height, in sports like basketball, but taller individuals would be less likely to succeed in a sport like gymnastics.
When it comes to allowing Miller and Yearwood to compete against cisgender girls, CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini defended the interscholastic league’s policy.
“This is about someone’s right to compete,” he said. “I don’t think this is that different from other classes of people, who, in the not too distant past, were not allowed to compete. I think it’s going to take education and understanding to get to that point on this issue.”
He also said the CIAC is not in a position to perform hormone testing on athletes. As a result, the league relies on schools to tell them how students identify.
Trey Cunningham, an internationally-ranked high hurdler who made the 110-meter finals at the U.S. Olympic trials last month, has come out publicly as gay.
The 25-year-old former Florida State University standout came out privately to family and friends at age 20, calling the process "the scariest thing I've ever done" in an exclusive interview with The New York Times.
For Cunningham, who grew up in rural Winfield, Alabama, raised by a conservative family, the idea of being gay was quite foreign. He says it took him a few years to accept his own sexuality, and the idea that his life would be different from how he thought it would be. His parents also initially pushed back on the news.
On Monday, the Nassau County Legislature approved a measure reinstating a ban prohibiting female-designated sports teams with transgender members from using county-owned athletic facilities.
The measure now heads to Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman for his signature into law.
Blakeman previously attempted to issue an executive order instituting the ban in March, but a state judge overturned that order two months later.
In that May ruling, Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Francis Ricigliano said Blakeman had overstepped his authority in issuing the order, usurping powers delegated to the county legislature.
New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill preventing transgender girls in grades 5-12 from participating on female-designated sports teams.
He declared that the measure "ensures fairness and safety in women's sports" by prohibiting transgender females from competing against cisgender females, against whom they may have a physiological and competitive advantage.
New Hampshire is the 25th state to impose a restriction on transgender athlete participation.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, along with the national organization GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), criticized the law, which requires student-athletes to show a birth certificate or "other evidence" to prove their gender identity aligns with their assigned sex at birth.
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Donald Trump Jr. has waded into the debate on transgender student-athletes, calling the first- and second-place finishes by two transgender girls at the Connecticut girl’s state track championship a “grave injustice.”
Terry Miller, of Bloomfield High School, and Andraya Yearwood, of Cromwell High School, won the top two spots in the 55-meter dash, with Miller setting a new state indoor record of 6.95 seconds, and Yearwood finishing in 7.01 seconds, according to The Associated Press. The third-place winner, Chelsea Mitchell, of Canton High School, finished with a time of 7.23 seconds.
Miller also won the 300-meter dash in a time of 40.13 seconds, ahead of her cisgender teammate Jillian Mars.
But many parents, as well as social conservatives, have objected to Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s policy allowing transgender athletes to compete for sports teams based on their gender identity.
Both athletes have garnered negative attention, with many arguing that the girls’ biological makeup gives them an unfair advantage over cisgender women athletes.
Donald Trump Jr. is one such critic, tweeting that he feels “sorry” for the other competitors.
Selina Soule, the eighth-place finisher at the state meet, told the AP that she was happy for Yearwood and Miller for being true to themselves, but felt that she missed out on an opportunity to compete in front of college coaches because she missed the cutoff for the New England Championships by two places — places that were taken by Miller and Yearwood.
“We all know the outcome of the race before it even starts; it’s demoralizing,” Soule said.
The issue of transgender inclusion in sports is often a delicate one, as evidenced by the backlash spurred by tennis star Martina Navratilova after she argued that transgender women should not be allowed to compete against cisgender women because they have an unfair biological advantage.
Joanna Harper, a medical physicist who studies transgender health care and a transgender runner herself, argues that athletes’ participation in sports should be based on their hormone levels, which will vary based on individual health factors and the length of time that a person has been transitioning.
“The gender identity doesn’t matter, it’s the testosterone levels,” said Harper. “Trans girls should have the right to compete in sports. But cisgender girls should have the right to compete and succeed, too. How do you balance that? That’s the question.”
But Harper also warned that the issue cannot be solved using a one-size-fits-all mentality. For instance, she wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post, when it comes to long distance running, cisgender athletes are on equal footing with transgender athletes who have successfully transitioned. But when it comes to sprinting, those with more muscle mass may have an advantage.
Transgender females may gain advantages, due to their height, in sports like basketball, but taller individuals would be less likely to succeed in a sport like gymnastics.
When it comes to allowing Miller and Yearwood to compete against cisgender girls, CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini defended the interscholastic league’s policy.
“This is about someone’s right to compete,” he said. “I don’t think this is that different from other classes of people, who, in the not too distant past, were not allowed to compete. I think it’s going to take education and understanding to get to that point on this issue.”
He also said the CIAC is not in a position to perform hormone testing on athletes. As a result, the league relies on schools to tell them how students identify.
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