MSHSL Hosts Hearing On Transgender Athletes
Brooklyn Center, Minn. (WCCO) – There was emotional reaction from parents Wednesday afternoon over a controversy involving school sports and gender.
The State High School League is trying to offer direction to coaches when a transgender student wants to join a team.
That prompted one group to buy a newspaper ad this week.
In bold letters, it read: "A male wants to shower beside your 14-year-old daughter. Are you OK with that?"
Wednesday afternoon, both sides spoke out to the High School League at a public hearing in Brooklyn Center.
We're used to hearing about girls joining boy's teams, but boys can't be on girl's teams.
But what if you have a boy who identifies as a girl?
That's what the State High School League is trying to establish a policy on.
And it's drawing emotional reaction.
There weren't nearly enough seats for everybody who wanted a voice on the issue, many of whom seemed to be against new guidelines.
"Our anatomy is what it is. It isn't what we would like it to be. And what we feel on any given day is not necessarily true," retired educator Norene Shephard said.
"It's my job as a parent, not the school or this boards, to educate my children on matters of sexuality. And I would like to have that right not taken away from me," parent Renee Carlson said.
The guidelines lay out the rules on discrimination and offer school administrators a list of things to consider if faced with this situation.
They do not mandate how schools would handle situations such as locker rooms and changing facilities.
"My name is Melissa Thompson and I am here as a mother of two student athletes to offer my full support of this proposed policy. And to let transgender youth in our community know that my family believes they deserve to be respected and protected just like anybody else," parent Melissa Thompson said.
"I was assigned female at birth but do not identify as female. My love for basketball last year made me believe I could handle being on the wrong team. That was wrong. Constantly being mis-gendered and called the wrong name took away my soul. I already feel like I don't have my body, now I am soulless." student Zeam Porter said.
Thursday, the State High School League is scheduled to vote on the proposal.
If passed, it would apply to all 500 of its member high schools, both public and private.
Also if this policy is passed, the decision would be left up to the individual school administrators following these guidelines.
But if the student is unhappy with the decision, he or she has a chance to appeal.
Minnesota is not the first state to tackle the issue of transgender students and sports. Thirty-two other states have already adopted policies on transgender students in this type of situation.