A California school board on Tuesday came down in opposition to biological males identifying as women competing in women’s sports.
Tom Duncan, a member of the Placer Union High School District board, said “even if it’s one biological girl that is injured by playing against a biological boy, that’s one too many.”
“These girls,” referring to women across the country refusing to compete with transgender athletes, “are brave for standing up,” according to Duncan.
The board member was responding to a community member who spoke about his experience as a parent chaperone at a school dance. The parent saw students of all genders, including transgender children, getting along well and “supporting each other.”
“The very kids that you think you’re protecting, you’re not focusing on what’s truly important to them: their education,” the parent said.
Other board members agreed with Duncan, including Jeremy Jeffreys and Dr. Emerson Lake.
Jeffreys, father of a transgender son, said “I totally understand the LGBT community, I love my son more than anything in the world, and I want my son to be who he is. At the same time, I have a daughter that’s 16 and an aspiring athlete, and I would not want her having to compete against biological males, who absolutely 100% have a biological advantage, there is no doubt about that.”
A study published in the academic journal Sports Medicine found no statistical distinction between cisgender and transgender athletes, and another published in British Journal of Sports Medicine found that transgender athletes are at a physical disadvantage.
However, the board is aligned with broad American public opinion, with 66% of Americans believing athletes should always compete with athletes sharing their biological sex.
The debate followed the California state track and field championship last weekend, which drew considerable controversy in part due to the participation of a trans athlete.
AB Hernandez, a biological male identifying as a woman, won first place in the high jump and the triple jump and second place in the long jump.
Sharing the silver with Hernandez, competitor Brooke White said “sharing the podium was nothing but an honor… as a part of the queer community, I want AB Hernandez to know we all have her back.”
New rules and regulations from the CIF, the governing board for California high school sports, sparked national controversy. These new rules would allow “biological female athletes to compete and potentially earn the same medal that a trans athlete wins.”
This decision came following a threat from President Donald Trump to cut funding if the state allowed any transgender athletes in women’s competitions, but California refused to comply.
President Trump came down on Hernandez specifically and said her participation “IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS” in a post on Truth Social.
In an interview with The Guardian, Hernandez commented “I can tune it out pretty well. I don’t really care. It’s weird when reporters come, and I’m like, ‘I forgot I’m famous now.’”
“They try to use intimidation tactics to push people to quit, but I’m not scared of them,” the athlete added.
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Author: Kristina Watrobski
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