Biases behind transgender athlete bans are deeply rooted

George B. Cunningham, University of Florida 

 Kelsey Garrison, University of Florida

Thu, December 7, 2023

A California teacher takes part in a demonstration in September 2023 to support the rights of transgender people. Leonard Ortiz/Orange County Register via Getty Images


In 2023, 24 states had laws or regulations in place prohibiting transgender students from participating on public school athletic teams consistent with their gender identity. These bans mean that a person whose sex assigned at birth was male but who identifies as a girl or woman cannot play on a girls or women’s athletic team at a public school in that state.

The topic has spurred many debates about fairness, the science behind sports performance, civil rights and sports as a human right.

As researchers who study diversity, equity and inclusion in sport, we were interested in understanding what prompted such bans. Though not a surprise, we showed for the first time through an in-depth study set to be published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Sport Management that state-level politics and public biases against transgender people are largely to blame.

Our research

We collected two years of data in 2021 and 2022 on states that passed legislation prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in sports on teams that connect with their own gender identities.

To determine the political leanings of a state’s population, we collected data about the share of Republican state senators and the party affiliation of the governor.

Finally, we collected information about the biases people had toward transgender individuals. The data came from responses to the Project Implicit website. People visiting the site can take tests aimed at measuring their biases toward different groups, including transgender people. Administrators then remove identifying information and make the data freely available. For our study, we aggregated the responses to have transgender bias scores for each state.

The politics of transgender bans

States whose residents have conservative political leanings tend to have more restrictive views on civil rights issues such as immigration, health care and the use of the death penalty.

These patterns hold for transgender rights, too.

In our work, we found that states with conservative-leaning legislatures such as in Wyoming and West Virginia were most likely to enact transgender athlete bans. As were states with Republican governors, such as Ron DeSantis in Florida and Greg Abbott in Texas.

These statewide patterns are consistent with national political actions.

In 2023, the Biden administration proposed a change to Title IX, the federal law that bans sex discrimination at K-12 schools and colleges that receive federal funds. Under Biden’s proposed changes, Title IX would also ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In response, nearly all – 25 of the 26 Republican governors – called on Biden to delay or withdraw the rule change. To date, Biden has not made a final decision and has delayed the change.

Bias against transgender people

But politics tells only part of the story.

We found that conservative political leanings spurred collective biases against transgender people, which in turn prompted the bans.

Political scientists have previously shown that politicians craft narratives and frame their arguments in ways that help shape people’s attitudes about social issues. In fact, people will sometimes adjust their perspectives to align with those held by their political representatives.

That’s what we found.

Impact on sports and athletes

Biases that are prevalent in a community or state represent systemic forms of oppression. Coupled with laws that limit rights, collective biases serve to stigmatize transgender people, hurting their overall health and well-being.

The impact is far-reaching.

Transgender athletes face the real possibility of participating in a sport one day, only to be prohibited from doing so the next. Ending a career in sports, regardless at what age, can harm the mental health of some athletes, something only likely to be magnified given the reason for the end.

Bloomfield High School transgender athlete Terry Miller, second from left, wins the final of the 55-meter dash over transgender athlete Andraya Yearwood, far left, at a Connecticut girls Class S indoor track meet in 2019. AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb

Coaches and sport administrators living in conservative states might find themselves having to navigate laws affecting who can play on their teams. They can do so by partnering with campus counselors and ensuring their athletic departments are inclusive spaces.

What’s next?

The links among conservative politics, collective biases against transgender people and transgender rights are unlikely to diminish any time soon. National political reporters Adam Nagourney and Jeremy Peter explained that social conservatives have targeted transgender rights as a way of galvanizing their constituents. The GOP efforts came about after planning by national conservative organizations to “harness the emotion around gender politics.”

Proponents of transgender inclusion have offered counterarguments, showing that transgender athletes are not a threat to women’s sports, nor have they ever been.

This data is important but will go only so far when combating biases.

Education and the chance to be around transgender people in everyday life also help curb prejudice. These collective factors, when combined with compelling stories about transgender inclusion in sports, may be what’s needed to overcome the biases in place.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and analysis to help you make sense of our complex world.

It was written by: George B. Cunningham, University of Florida and Kelsey Garrison, University of Florida.

Read more:

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Indiana, Iowa and Texas advance anti-transgender agendas – part of a longtime strategy by conservatives to rally their base

Old Bridge school board first to affirm NJ policy protecting transgender students

Cheryl Makin, MyCentralJersey.com
Thu, December 7, 2023 at 3:12 AM MST·6 min read

OLD BRIDGE – The school district is the first in New Jersey to officially affirm the state’s transgender student policy, an issue that has roiled many school districts in the state and became a GOP rallying cry in last month’s legislative election.

Under the policy, school districts are not required to inform parents if a student confides in a teacher about their gender identity or sexual orientation. The policy also allows transgender students to participate in gender-segregated activities and use school facilities, such as bathrooms or locker rooms, that are consistent with their gender identity.

Opponents have said the policy, which has been in effect since former Gov. Chris Christie signed it into law in 2017, infringes on “parental rights.”

At least nine New Jersey school districts, including neighboring Manalapan-Englishtown, have adopted policies requiring school officials to notify parents of students’ gender expression. Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has sued some of those districts, saying their policies violate New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin

The Old Bridge Board of Education vote to affirm the policy was 4-3 with one abstention. Board members Jay Slade, Lisa Lent, Jennifer D’Antuono and Marjorie Jodrey voted in favor while Devinder Singh, Matt Sulikowski and Frank Weber voted against. Board President Salvatore Giordano, who earlier this year unsuccessfully ran in the GOP primary for a state Assembly seat, abstained.

The vote came after weeks of often spirited discussion at board meetings about the policy.

At the Nov. 14 school board meeting, a 14-year-old student whose mother said she had “transitioned a long time ago” spoke in favor of the policy.

"I feel as if the people who were speaking for this cause are constantly repeating themselves, because the people on the opposing side won't listen," she said. "I've heard people compare this policy to people going through substance abuse and home life abuse, which is completely different from a gender identity. One is someone's identity, and one is someone's way of coping with something. Please for the sake of transgender children and the overall small group of kids that need this policy, please keep it in."

More: Ramapo College faces controversy, threats after transgender swimmer breaks school record

Soon after she spoke, an audience member berated the teen, calling her "he" and a "sexual deviant." The board stopped the man from continuing to speak.

Anne Ettinger, the student’s mother, told the board the man’s comments may have been a blessing in disguise.

"He was easily emotionally abusive to my child so what is going to stop him from doing it again?" Ettinger said. "In 2015, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) found emotional abuse is equally as detrimental to mental and behavioral health as violent abuse. These kids need to be protected. And you just saw a little taste of what my daughter goes through."

Ettinger said there are more parents and transgender students in favor of the policy but can't speak up because "they don't feel safe."

"I think it actually turned out to be a good thing that he stood up and spoke because I think the Board of Ed really needed to see what these kids go through," Ettinger said. "And what she had been going through at school. I think it opened up their eyes to the emotional trauma that these kids go through. I'm happy that they affirmed the policy that's been in effect for six years with no problem. I'm so grateful to the board. I am very thankful that they were supportive."

Superintendent of Schools David Cittadino likened the situation to his experience in parochial school.

"You went to that Confession," he said. "You could tell them you murdered somebody. And they couldn't tell your parents. They couldn't tell the police. They can't tell anyone. Parental rights? I know I had a conversation with my clergy about things that I wasn't sure about. But Father Tom never called my parents. The gender identity is the area we are discussing, but sometimes I feel it gets lost in there."

Cittadino said teachers do not instruct about gender identity, hand out gender-affirming medications, or give suggestions or recommendations for gender-affirming doctors. They do, however, report abuse, and would do so if a transgender child is experiencing abuse.

"Sadly, at least weekly, sometimes twice a week, one of our staff members by law has to call DCP&P (state Division of Child Protection and Permanency) because of a concern of child neglect or abuse and that doesn't separate between gender identities. All students, we protect them, and as I said last week that is that same thing we would do in this situation," the superintendent said. "A third of a percentage point, we're talking about students that are impacted by this policy. And I have no record of how many times it's been applied. I can tell you how many times a parent has come to me and said they were upset that they found out that their child was transgender, and we knew first and didn't tell them, and that's been zero."

More: 'Nothing sufficient was done': Manville schools sued over transgender student's suicide

Cittadino said parents are not notified when a child confides other things to teachers, such as losing their virginity or if they are gay.

Louise Walpin, director of advocacy and organizing for the statewide grassroots group SWEEP (Suburban Women Engaged, Empowered and Pissed), said other school districts should follow Old Bridge’s lead.

"We believe that this vote is newsworthy as it shows that this board supports the transgender community," Walpin said.

"These are just kids that have to be protected," she said. "It's not a matter of keeping a secret. It's a matter of helping these children, who maybe at this point in time can't come out. This policy is just to protect these kids. A child has to be safe."

Ettinger, the student’s mother, told the board that the policy is "not about taking parental rights away" but rather "politicians are making you think that your rights are being taken away because their end goal is taking away basic human rights from transgender children."

"There is such a hypocrisy within this world," Ettinger said. "What a beautiful world it could be, where everyone is different, and we all have different opinions. I just don't understand why that's not okay. Boring − it would be boring if we're all exactly the same."

Slade, one of the school board members, said the board needed to take a stand on the policy so it could concentrate on more pressing issues, such as infrastructure, overcrowding, teacher shortages, transportation, supply chain delays, the state of staff and student mental health and learning loss.

"We can't have these meetings and keep hearing the same thing," he said. "We need to concern ourselves with other things."

Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. T


House GOP will introduce a second transgender athlete ban next week
Brooke Migdon
Fri, December 8, 2023 


House Republicans are planning to launch a second legislative effort to bar transgender women and girls from competing on female school sports teams, cementing the issue as a priority for the GOP ahead of 2024.

The proposed “Save Women’s Sports Act” would require public K-12 schools and colleges to designate sports teams — including intramural and club teams — based on sex assigned at birth, rather than gender identity. The bill’s restrictions would also apply to private schools that receive federal financial assistance, according to a draft obtained by The Hill.

A second clause states that membership of athletic teams “designated only for females shall only be open to biological females at birth.” Schools that violate the provision risk losing access to all federal funding, according to the bill, which is set to be introduced next week by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.).

The congresswoman’s proposal is modeled after an identically titled law passed in Montana in 2021. A federal judge last year ruled the law’s restrictions on transgender college athletes unconstitutional, but allowed a provision barring transgender K-12 students from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity to remain in effect.

Similar bans have been implemented in at least two dozen states since 2020, according to the Movement Advancement Project, which tracks LGBTQ legislation. Restrictions adopted by lawmakers in Idaho, Arizona, Utah and West Virginia, however, are temporarily blocked by court orders.

The House passed a separate bill to prevent transgender women and girls from competing on school sports teams in April.

Rep. Greg Stuebe’s (R-Fla.) “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” aims to restrict the participation of transgender athletes by amending Title IX — the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at federally funded schools — to recognize sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

The measure, which passed in a party-line 219-203 vote, has not been taken up by the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats. The White House in April warned that President Biden would veto the bill if it reached his desk.

McClain’s office did not immediately respond to questions about her bill, including whether she believes the proposal goes further than Stuebe’s. The congresswoman was not one of the measure’s 93 Republican co-sponsors.

Still, McClain, who has represented Michigan’s 9th Congressional District since 2021, is one of Congress’s most outspoken critics of transgender female athletes.

During a Dec. 5 House subcommittee hearing titled “The Importance of Protecting Female Athletics and Title IX,” McClain repeatedly referred to transgender women as “men” and claimed that allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports puts other student-athletes in danger and is “fundamentally unfair.”

“We are placing our daughters in danger every time they step onto the field,” she said. “This hearing is about protecting women, period.”

McClain during the nearly 3-hour hearing also alluded to her forthcoming bill, telling a panel of witnesses that transgender people can “be who [they] want to be, but the American people don’t have to fund it.”

McClain and other House Republicans lauded the testimony of Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who has traveled the country to testify in favor of legislation to bar transgender women and girls from female sports teams, restrooms and locker rooms.

Gaines, who accompanied McClain to Biden’s State of the Union address in February, tied with former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas — the first transgender woman to win a national Division I title — for fifth place at last year’s NCAA championships.

Privacy concerns persist in transgender sports case after Utah judge seals only some health records

HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Thu, December 7, 2023 

A 12-year-old transgender swimmer is seen waiting by a pool, Feb. 22, 2021, in Utah. She and her family spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Transgender teenagers challenging a Utah law banning trans girls from playing on girls' sports teams can keep portions of their mental health records confidential after a state judge ruled Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, that some details were irrelevant to the case.

 (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) 

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Transgender teenagers who are challenging a Utah law banning trans girls from playing on girls' sports teams can keep portions of their mental health records confidential after a state judge ruled Thursday that some details are irrelevant to the case.

Two student-athletes whose families sued over the 2022 state law were ordered in September by Judge Keith Kelly to give state attorneys access to the last seven years of their mental health records, as well as all documents related to medical transition and puberty.

Kelly temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the ban, which took effect last year after the Republican-controlled Legislature overrode Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto, while the court continues to assess its legality.

Cox drew national attention as one of the few Republican governors who pushed back against state lawmakers’ restrictions on transgender youth, warning that such bans target kids already at a high risk for suicide. Utah is one of more than a dozen states that have passed such bans.

Kelly ruled last August that transgender girls could return to athletic competition after hearing several hours of student testimony describing how exclusion from sports was causing them significant distress. He described the ban as “plainly unfavorable treatment” and said it must be put on pause to protect the girls from “irreparable harm” and a severe impact on their mental health.

But because the girls' “physical, mental and emotional circumstances” factored into his decision to grant the preliminary injunction, he also determined that their mental health records were relevant to the case.

His ruling Thursday does little to alleviate privacy concerns raised by the plaintiffs' attorneys, who argue the state should not have access to the deeply personal mental health records of children who have not waived their therapist-client privilege.

Only details concerning irrelevant third parties, certain isolated events and the students' deadnames, or the birth names that they no longer use, will remain redacted, Kelly said Thursday.

“These children should have the ability to speak freely in their therapy sessions without an intrusion into that privilege that exists between patients and providers,” Amy Whelan, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told The Associated Press after the hearing. “And the issues that they're discussing are really not at issue in a sports case."

Whelan said the next step is to work out internally with the state’s lawyers how those records can be used in court. Before defense attorneys begin taking depositions, the families' lawyers will outline what they think is and is not appropriate to ask the minor plaintiffs to try to minimize “any potential harm or stress that could result," she said.

Lawyers from the attorney general’s office, which represents the state, have argued they should have full access to the girls’ mental health records, including portions that might not seem relevant to the case, so they can assess whether the state law is responsible for the distress the girls have described. By centering their arguments around the alleged mental health impacts of the ban, defense attorney Jason Dupree argues the plaintiffs opened the door to a complete examination of their mental health history.

The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking comment on the outcome of Thursday’s hearing.

The girls' families argue in their lawsuit that categorical bans on transgender athletes single out their daughters for less favorable treatment than other girls. Their lawyers say the law treats a student’s transgender status as a proxy for athletic ability and fails to consider individual circumstances.

But supporters of the law say transgender athletes have inherent advantages and compromise fairness in girls’ sports.

There have been few cases of potential competitive advantages in K-12 sports in Utah and in other states passing similar bans.

With the ban on hold, a back-up plan for vetting transgender athletes has been met with similar criticism.

A commission of politically appointed experts from the athletic and medical fields can now decide on a case-by-case basis whether a transgender athlete's participation compromises fairness. Republican state lawmakers created the commission in another 2022 law as a fallback plan to be implemented in case of an injunction. The panel can review a child’s height and weight and whether they are taking puberty blocking drugs or hormones, which some critics say crosses a line.