Anger, Fear and Fairness in School Sports
I remember two days I felt very angry and frightened. As I think about who should be allowed to play on which teams, I remember these emotions.
When I was about 13, I participated in a civil rights march urging that students would be allowed to go to school together, regardless of race, and that all families have equal access to housing. As we walked to the Wichita, Kansas, City Hall, hundreds of people threw rocks or bottles at us. Terrifying.
A few weeks later, our religious youth group met with another youth group, many of whom felt that integration “violated God’s laws.”
But gradually, people in Wichita and all over the U.S. learned that it would be OK for youngsters of different races to attend school together. This allowed youngsters to learn more about each other’s skills, strengths and customs. Being together made everyone better.
The day I was angriest was when I coached a team of 10-12-year-old girls basketball players. Our team lost, about 40-4. Though the youngsters were all the same age, the other team’s players were much taller and stronger. I was really angry and frustrated.
But later, two of our players told me they had learned that no matter how much they practiced, they probably would not be able to beat that team. They concluded that though they liked basketball, longterm they would need to find things they were good at and that they enjoyed. Great life lessons.
I mention these incidents because a productive discussion about who can play on a womens sports team can’t just be about sharing research studies.
Minnesota has allowed trans women to play on womens sports teams for about a decade. I searched for examples of teams dominated by a trans person(s), who won Minnesota athletic championships. I found none.
Then I asked Peg Brenden, who as a St. Cloud high school tennis player in 1972, helped lead the successful effort giving women equal sports opportunities. Her experiences, including overcoming people’s fears, are described in the terrific book, “Break Point: Two Minnesota Athletes and the Road to Title IX” which I wrote about in 2023.
Brenden, who recently retired as a Minnesota judge, responded: “At its core, athletics is about education. Participants live out lessons in physical fitness, teamwork and fair play. A field or track or gym or pool offers a student an opportunity to develop life skills that will likely impact their lives more than anything they will learn in the classroom … Nobody has a right to win, but the law does guarantee a right to play. Protecting the educational opportunities for trans athletes easily trumps any ‘unfair’ physical advantage a trans athlete may have. Let them play.”
Researcher Jack Turban, of Stanford University, points out that trans women are not necessarily taller, stronger or faster. Turban added, in the well-respected magazine, Scientific American: “Claiming that transgender girls have an unfair advantage in sports also neglects the fact that these kids have the deck stacked against them in nearly every other way imaginable. They suffer from higher rates of bullying, anxiety, and depression — all of which make it more difficult for them to train and compete. They also have higher rates of homelessness and poverty.”
As Minnesota State Sen. Scott Dibble pointed out to me: “Some of the opposition to what are called trans women being on women’s sports teams comes from genuine fear and belief that it’s unfair competition.”
Online comments demonstrate that Dibble is right.
I respect families and youngsters who fear or are angry about the idea of transgender girls participating in women’s sports. I also agree with Sen Dibble: Some politicians are trying to exploit this fear.
But I think one of the strengths of America has been our ability to overcome our fears, whether it’s women or Black people voting, going to school together or living near each other. Expanding opportunities can be scary. But I think we’ve found it’s the right thing to do.
Joe Nathan, PhD, has been a Minnesota public school educator, researcher and PTA President. He founded and directed the Center for School Change, now known as Catalyst for Systems Change. Reactions welcome, joe@centerforschoolchange.org