Young Transgender Texas Athletes Hit Hard With New Sports Law
Transgender athletes in Texas are now required beginning today, January 18th to compete in sports teams that align with the sex that was listed on their original birth certificate.
Gov. Greg Abbott just signed House Bill 25 into law on Monday requiring that public school transgender students in grades Kinder through 12th grade who compete in sports, sponsored or authorized, in Texas to play on teams in accordance with their assigned sex listed at birth.
University Interscholastic Leaguecharged with making changes too.
House Bill 25 also charges the University Interscholastic League which governs contests in Texas schools with implementing the same rules. Previously the UIL accepted "amended birth certificates," where students who changed their certificates to best present the sex they identified with, will no longer be acceptable.
Opponents of House Bill 25 have this to say about the new Texas Law
Opponents of House Bill 25 advocating for transgender rights feel that the new law will only "further harm the very kids who need support from their peers and teachers," LGBTQ organization GLAAD tweeted. "It's unnecessary and shameful to target children who just want to grow up in peace and be themselves, like any other kid," NPR offers in their article.
Supporters of House Bill 25 offer their thoughts as well.
Texas Public Radio offers that, "Supporters of the bill say they believe it will prevent trans athletes and specifically trans girls from having an unfair advantage when they compete against cisgender students."
What do sports statistics show?
One article from Sportsrec.com offers that "The gender gap in athletic performance, as shown in records from Olympic competition, has remained stable since 1983. The mean difference has been about 10 percent between men and women for all events. The mean gap is 10.7 percent for running, 8.9 percent for swimming, and 17.5 percent for jumping."
What are your thoughts on the fairness of transgender athletic restrictions in Texas?
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