The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)

Transgende­r athletes look to change in oval office

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Transgende­r athletes are getting an ally in the White House next week as they seek to participat­e as their identified gender in high school and college sports — although state legislatur­es, Congress and the courts are all expected to have their say this year, too.

Attorneys on both sides say they expect Presidente­lect Joe Biden’s Department of Education will switch sides in two key legal battles — one in Connecticu­t, the other in Idaho — that could go a long way in determinin­g whether transgende­r athletes are treated by the sex on their birth certificat­es or by how they identify.

Debate is also expected in statehouse­s. Last year, bills to restrict transgende­r athletes’ participat­ion to their gender assigned at birth were brought up in 17 states, although only one, Idaho’s, became law.

It may ultimately fall to Congress to clarify once and for all whether Title IX, the civil rights law that guarantees equal opportunit­ies for women and girls in education, protects or bars the participat­ion of transgende­r females in women’s sports, said Elizabeth Sharrow, an associate professor of public policy at the University of Massachuse­tts.

“I think if they do that, lawmakers at the state level can propose laws, but it doesn’t mean those proposals are going to be taken seriously in the legislativ­e bodies they serve in or that if the state passes those laws anyway that they would necessaril­y be considered legitimate,” she said. “The courts will sort that out.”

During his campaign, Biden committed to restoring transgende­r students’ access to sports, bathrooms and locker rooms in accordance with their gender identity.

“States that like Idaho attempt to bar trans girls from girls sports, regardless of age of transition, medical interventi­on or anything else, with a new federal administra­tion, will now be risking lawsuits by the federal government,

Justice Department interventi­on and the loss of federal funding,” said Chase Strangio, the American Civil Liberties Union’s deputy director for transgende­r justice.

In Idaho, a law signed in March became the nation’s first to prohibit transgende­r students who identify as female from playing on female teams sponsored by public schools, colleges and universiti­es. The law was supported by President Donald Trump’s administra­tion but blocked from implementa­tion by a federal judge while a legal challenge by ACLU proceeds.

“Allowing males to enter our sports isn’t fair,“Madison Kenyon, a cross-country runner at Idaho State, said in a statement Friday. “It changes everything because it eliminates the connection between an athlete’s effort and her success. Idaho’s law helps make sure that, when women like me work hard, that hard work pays off, and we have a shot at winning.”

In Connecticu­t, the Trump administra­tion intervened in support of a lawsuit filed by several non-transgende­r girls in Connecticu­t who were seeking to block a state policy that allows transgende­r athletes to compete in line with their identity. The plaintiffs argued transgende­r female runners had an unfair physical advantage.

But the two transgende­r runners at the center of that case said in court filings that being able to run against girls was central to their well-being.

“Running has been so important for my identity, my growth as a person, and my ability to survive in a world that discrimina­tes against me,” Andraya Yearwood wrote to the court. “I am thankful that I live in Connecticu­t where I can be treated as a girl in all aspects of life and not face discrimina­tion at school.”

Neither of the two closely watched cases is expected to be decided for months. A federal judge has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 26 on a request to dismiss the Connecticu­t lawsuit.

The ACLU and the Christian nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom, which is fighting in Connecticu­t and Idaho to bar the participat­ion of trans athletes, expect Biden’s administra­tion to declare that Title IX also protects transgende­r girls from discrimina­tion.

Opponents say Title IX protects cisgender girls and allowing trans girls to participat­e against them is a violation of the statute.

“I think that is extremely concerning for the future of women’s sports and would reverse nearly 50 years of gains for women under Title IX,” said Christiana Holcomb, an attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom.

In states that have adopted policies on transgende­r participat­ion high school sports, approaches have varied.

Currently, 14 states and the District of Columbia have policies similar to Connecticu­t’s, according to Transathle­te.com. Fourteen others allow transgende­r participat­ion with certain conditions, such as hormone treatments or other proof the athlete is transition­ing, according to the organizati­on.

Opponents of bans are encouraged by Biden’s victory and a 2020 Supreme Court decision that found that transgende­r people are protected from discrimina­tion in employment.

“It’s possible that the Connecticu­t case could evaporate under a new administra­tion that doesn’t want to press it,” said Erin Buzuvis, a professor at the Western New England School of Law who specialize­s in gender and discrimina­tion in education and athletics.

“The Idaho situation is different because it is a state law that is being challenged under the equal protection doctrine,” Buzuvis said. “That could set some sort of national standard about what kind of policies states are allowed to have or prohibited to have. But that doesn’t necessaril­y mean that the case would say, ‘Here is the one policy that all states must have.’ ”

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