The States: Where We Wish Texas Would Secede Already

[Drew S.]

Is it fair to assume other posters don’t think people ever cheat or do anything underhanded to gain in advantage in high school/youth sports? When I was a kid there was a junior tennis player who died because a parent of his opponent spiked his drink. That’s obviously an extreme example but there are definitely parents who will go to great lengths to help their kids.

I’m all for letting kids choose and hopefully there won’t be any abusing the system.

[ticapnews]

He watched Revenge of the Nerds and thought the football players really had transitioned into women.

[French Rage]

What? How would a guy’s transition “help” someone else? Are you suggesting he would undergo transition therapy and then compete under her identity? Pretty sure competing under an assumed identity is already against the rules….

That sounds like a bad 1980s movie.

[Spartanforlife4]

That sounds like a bad 1980s movie.

Juwanna Mann was made in 2002.

[Handyman]

Now that you all got your little pot shots in against the GOP, I'm gonna ask the serious question:

How do you propose we handle trans athletes at the high school level?

There is no ****ing place in the multiverse where what the GOP is proposing is a viable option. But as being trans becomes more and more acceptable in our society, it's an issue that is going to need to be addressed. At the high school level, there are absolutely physical and biological differences in play. Unfortunately what is currently in place for "elite" competition (NCAA/Olympic/Pro) as far as standards go, it simply isn't feasible at the high school level where almost all trans athletes will be within a year or so of their choice to transition.

How about just ****ing not care? High School sports is not life and death...if your team loses because you faced off against a trans athlete suck it up and deal. What a ****ing horse[bleep] issue this is.

Sexual assault is definitely not the answer...

[Handyman]

Yes and no on it being an issue. For trans athletes that run in the middle/back of the pack, no one will care. But for those at the top of the leaderboard, yes, things will be questioned. And despite the GOP being human trash about this and just wanting to oppress trans folks, the idea that a biological male has a built in 10-15% performance advantage over a biological female is a valid one in these cases. You will see a person who was placing mid-pack as a male all of a sudden run the same time and now be in contention for the win.

As a whole, trans high school athletes will have just discovered who they truly are in life, and will not have the time to administer the complex equalizers that are used at higher levels. And without those in place, is it truly fair to CIS females?

Again, I am in no way saying that the genital exams are the answer. They sure as **** ARE NOT. But the question of "fairness" is a valid one that neither side really seems willing to address properly. Everyone just hurls the blunt objects that their particular side hands them across the field and doesn't take the time to take a nuanced look at things.

Again...why do you care?

[Handyman]

It’s not an issue in the real world. NOBODY is transitioning their actual living body for the sake of sneaking into a different sportsball game where they will perform better in comparison. Stop for a second and think about how stupid that is.
And if someone did (which they won’t) it’s nobody else’s business. The outcome of a high school game has no ramifications in the real world. It doesn’t matter even a little bit who “wins” or “loses” the score of a teenagers’ contest. And again, it won’t happen. It’s a made-up issue.
Before we pass laws about HS trans sports participation, it’s more important that legislatures address what we do when the day comes that my UPS guy drives his entire route in reverse, because someone could be injured.

For Parise's Sake THIS!

[Handyman]

No one on here is saying they're transitioning just for sports. But there are people who will transition from male to female who are also athletes. And they will have a built-in biological advantage.

And as much as everyone on here probably doesn't give a hoot about high school sports given the educational demographics of this Board, there are plenty of Al Bundies out there who do. And states and schools still track their HS sports records, so societally there is at least some modicum of importance placed on it. So while it's all fine and dandy to say participation should trump all other considerations at the high school level because it doesn't really matter, there's a large segment of the population that disagrees.

And the irony that it's almost entirely all old white men debating this issue on this board is not lost on me. Outside of MissT, we aren't exactly getting input on here from anyone who is going to be affected directly either way.

Change gender to race and none of these arguments even make it through the door. But apparently my girlfriend should tell her trans students they have to be sensitive the ****wits who peaked in HS so they have to just pretend to be who they aren't.

Why not then just take it the final step...make a trans league so you can keep things pure. That is what this is all about right? Gotta live in the past and make sure everything is fair to those that might feel slighted by equality. So what if it does undo psychological harm to the athlete (even leaving out the sexual assault) at least some track star from 1986 still has his pole vault record!

I believe MissT has basically destroyed this argument based on her running but I may be misremembering.

[Drew S.]

How about just ****ing not care? High School sports is not life and death...if your team loses because you faced off against a trans athlete suck it up and deal. What a ****ing horse[bleep] issue this is.

Sexual assault is definitely not the answer...

The issue I see is once one team/school has success with trans athletes other teams will try to replicate it. Hopefully this doesn’t happen but never underestimate how ***** a lot of parents and coaches are.

[Swansong]

The issue I see is once one team/school has success with trans athletes other teams will try to replicate it. Hopefully this doesn’t happen but never underestimate how ***** a lot of parents and coaches are.

I feel like you're searching for any hypothetical reason here. This just isn't plausible.


"I'm really concerned with teams finding success with purple eyed athletes, and then recruiting purple eyed athletes from all over the state to get a further edge, to the detriment of brown eyed athletes in the district. What about the brown-eyed athletes?!"

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

I feel like you're searching for any hypothetical reason here. This just isn't plausible.


"I'm really concerned with teams finding success with purple eyed athletes, and then recruiting purple eyed athletes from all over the state to get a further edge, to the detriment of brown eyed athletes in the district. What about the brown-eyed athletes?!"

Just wait til men evolve their dongs to be detachable like Velcro!

[Swansong]

Just wait til men evolve their dongs to be detachable like Velcro!

I've always wanted a detachable hogan.

[Drew S.]

I feel like you're searching for any hypothetical reason here. This just isn't plausible.


"I'm really concerned with teams finding success with purple eyed athletes, and then recruiting purple eyed athletes from all over the state to get a further edge, to the detriment of brown eyed athletes in the district. What about the brown-eyed athletes?!"

I hope you’re right but I certainly won’t be surprised when coaches and parents do the wrong thing.

[Swansong]

I hope you’re right but I certainly won’t be surprised when coaches and parents do the wrong thing.

Of course, at times, people will do the wrong thing. But that extremely small chance should not prevent others from exercising their very real civil rights.


Parallel: guns kill a ridiculous amount of people in the US, but we can't ban them because of the second amendment. But a tiny fraction of trans athletes are lying, so we must make sure to strip the rights from all the other trans athletes.

[ticapnews]

So if I'm coaching a girl's team in some Ohio town, and we're losing, all I have to do is say "They're using a boy!" and the girls on the other team have to submit to what is essentially sexual assault or we win by forfeit. And remember: the law is specifically written to protect ME as the accuser and not the girls. I can go around making baseless accusations against any athlete and there are never repercussions for me.

Seems like a good idea. That will definitely increase participation among female students and promote that sense of fair play Drew seems so worried about.

And, not for nothing, but who is going to pay the doctors who have to give these examinations? The state? The school? Individual families? Or are we expecting the doctor to do it for free? I guess you could attract pro bono work from creepy doctors who get their kicks feeling up underage girls, but I'm not sure you really want those types around your kids.