SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The issue of allowing transgender athletes to participate in competitive sports became a flashpoint during the recent presidential election campaign and continues to be divisive.
In recent months, San Jose State University has politicized an issue in the Bay Area, with numerous players withdrawing from games against the Spartans over allegations that one member of the Spartans’ women’s volleyball team is transgender. It has become a fierce battleground.
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Now, we’re seeing a culture war unfolding in Bay Area high school sports as well. The collision occurred on Oct. 12 at a girls’ volleyball tournament hosted by Aragon High School in San Mateo.
Details are contained in email exchanges between Aragon City and Notre Dame-Belmont officials obtained by ABC7 News. Aragon State Athletic Director Steve Sell, as co-president of the Peninsula Athletic League Athletic Directors, said Notre Dame parents and fans booed and harassed transgender players on opposing Half Moon Bay teams. As a result, the University of Notre Dame was notified that some kind of disciplinary action may be taken.
But this apparently wasn’t a one-off. Sell noted that Notre Dame-Belmont canceled a nonleague game against Half Moon Bay earlier in the season because of a transgender player.
Sell will appear on ABC7 News this week at 3 p.m. to discuss his concerns about the current movement to ban transgender girls from competing despite Title IX and bylaws of federal law that prevent discrimination on the basis of sex. said anchor Kristen Gee. The California Interscholastic Federation allows all students the opportunity to participate “in a manner consistent with their gender identity.”
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“Right now, it’s an incredibly scary thing,” said Sell, a former football player, veteran football coach and athletic director. For girls of my gender, I’m a little scared.” They just want to belong, connect, and compete by playing high school sports. ”
In a wide-ranging discussion, Sell also expressed concerns about the mental health of trans students and addressed commonly cited factors against trans girls competing: unfair physical advantage and safety from other players. I’m working on it. He points out that the university’s women’s teams practice and scrimmage regularly without fear for their safety and for the added challenge of competing against men in many sports.
“The potential risk is not zero,” he said. “There are probably several scenarios that we would have to deal with if there was a serious risk.” But Sells points out that “for me, the safety argument is not that great,” and believes it should be included in the standard unless it can be proven unsafe in individual cases.
Watch the full interview in the media player above.
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