Interesting story out of Portland about Andraya Yearwood, a high school runner who is starting to dominate local girl’s track despite only being 15 years old. The thing is, Yearwood was born male and only recently come out as transgender. The local school board decided to allow her to compete against other females.
While it pains me a little to agree with social conservatives on a subject like this, I do think that, if for no other reason than the consideration of the other female athletes, people who transition from male to female should either agree voluntarily to continue to compete in the boys/men’s divisions or recuse themselves from organized sports altogether. It’s simply not fair to the other competitors, especially since a female who takes male hormones as a performance enhancer would be banned.
The article states that all of Yearwood’s teammates support her but I wonder if this is due to social pressure and how many of them privately resent it. At some point, there is going to be backlash from cis-gendered female athletes.
This will be an interesting topic to follow in the future, especially if it gets to the professional ranks. I wonder if women will be so supportive of transgenders playing against them when a paycheck is on the line?
TARRANTblog 