The tug-of-war rages on. The Left continues to insist that transgender students be permitted to compete athletically with students of the gender they identity with. The Right argues in favor of preserving tradition, noting that allowing “transfemales” (i.e., biological males) to compete in girls’ sports gives them an unfair advantage.
The latest state to assert independence from Joe Biden’s executive order decreeing that trans athletes be permitted to play on the team of their choice is Tennessee. Last Friday, Gov. Bill Lee signed into law a bill that in his words would “preserve women’s athletics and ensure fair competition.”
Naturally, the Left is apoplectic. The ACLU released a statement declaring:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Governor Lee’s rush to discriminate against transgender children is appalling. Transgender people have the right to participate in sports consistent with who they are, just like everyone else. [Emphasis added]
I’m inclined to agree with the highlighted statement. Which is why I propose toward that end that schools extend their athletic programs to include two new teams for each sport — one entirely for girls who identify as boys and one entirely for boys who identify as girls.
The move is not all that different from setting up gender-neutral bathrooms, which a number of schools have done.
I’d like to assure readers that the purpose of my proposal is not to mock people who believe they were born into the wrong body but to accommodate them — to accord them (in the words of the ACLU) “the right to participate in sports consistent with who they are, just like everyone else.”