Track

With the ability of transgender youth to compete in athletics against the gender they identify with varying by state, state Rep. Glen Casada has urged his colleagues to support a new bill that would mandate K-12 students only compete against the gender that corresponds with their sex as designated by their birth certificate.

Policies regarding youth transgender athletes across the United States

There are 16 states — primarily in the northeast and on the West Coast — that have policies that allow for trans student athletes to compete against the gender with which they identify. Fourteen states have policies that allow for trans athletes to compete against their identified gender, albeit with required documentation.

Eleven states prohibit trans students outright from competing against the gender with which they identify, whereas 10 states have no statewide policy on the matter. With House Bill 3, Tennessee legislators aim to join the aforementioned 11 states that would mandate student athletes only compete against the gender corresponding with their own sex as designated on their birth certificate.

Proponents and opponents make their case on House Bill 3

Sponsored by state Rep. Scott Cepicky, House Bill 3 is scheduled to be heard by the state House K-12 Subcommittee Tuesday evening. Former Speaker of the House Glen Casada, a member on that committee, said that he would urge his colleagues to support the bill.

IMGP3938.JPG

State Rep. Scott Cepicky (left) and State Rep. Glen Casada (right).

"It just makes sense because males — especially when they go through puberty — just have much larger muscle mass and upper-body strength over females, and it's not a fair competitive field when males compete against females," Casada said.

Critics of such policies argue that mandating student athletes compete only against their gender as designated at birth is merely a move to target trans youth. One such critic is Robert McNamara, chairperson president of the Franklin chapter of PFLAG, one of the largest LGBTQ rights' advocacy groups in the country.

"Of course we think it is complete nonsense, and we think it's just targeting trans youth, it just is continuing the slate of hate," McNamara said. "There is a lot of opposition, especially corporate dollars; corporations want to move here and want to have an inclusive workforce."

The language of the bill reads that "boys, on average, can be physically stronger than girls, having more skeletal muscle mass than girls and more upper-body and lower-body strength." McNamara argued that "no matter how they word it, it boils down to discrimination."

"Not all boys are created equal, not all girls are created equal; once hormones are involved and changed, and estrogen levels change, not everyone is created equal," McNamara said. "What is the reason for this in the first place, who is this harming? Is there like three people, five people?"

In response to the bill's language regarding that males can being stronger on average, McNamara pointed to the use of the word "can."

"The word is 'can be,' doesn't mean that they are," McNamara said. "So once a boy is going through the process of becoming trans, that alters their estrogen and the balance changes, and so it's not necessarily true."

In response to allegations of discrimination, Casada said he fundamentally disagreed that the bill was in any way a form of discrimination.

"From a science point of view I would disagree [that it's discrimination] because we're allowing emotion to dominate over the science that these transgender [females] are much more physically stronger," Casada said.

"So I'm urging the committee to stick with the science; is it fair for a male — someone with much larger body mass — to compete against females?"

The bill will be heard by the K-12 Subcommittee Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. If ultimately approved in that committee, the bill will eventually make its way to the House floor for a vote to become law.