MN won’t follow trans athlete ban unless GOP bills pass this session
MSHSL won’t follow trans ban unless bills pass
The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) does not plan to follow a Trump administration order barring trans athletes from competing in the sport of their choosing, unless bills from Minnesota GOP lawmakers pass this legislative session.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota youth sports are not changing their approach based on a Trump administration policy banning transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Political sport
Sizing up the issue:
Republican lawmakers are prioritizing a change in the law this year.
Fewer than 10 of 520,000 NCAA athletes are transgender.
The number is very small nationally, and nobody seems to know of a trans Minnesota high school athlete. But Republicans want to ban them, just in case.
High school sports in Minnesota follow state law, so the Trump administration’s ban on transgender women in sports won’t be followed.
"If we get wind of any schools discriminating and targeting against transgender people, we will take action," said Jess Braverman, legal director for Gender Justice.
Protecting trans people is Braverman’s job.
She’s gone to the Minnesota Supreme Court against USA Powerlifting for excluding JayCee Cooper from its women’s competition.
And she’s upset to see bills in the Minnesota House and Senate proposing to ban transgender athletes from school sports.
How would it work?
Ban bills:
The bills would allow people to dispute an athlete’s gender.
"This is only to protect girls who are in sports," said Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Rochester). "And if there is a question, then there would need to be this proof."
The proof required in bills from Sen. Nelson and Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover) would be a doctor’s note after an examination of the athlete’s anatomy, hormone levels and chromosomes.
Trans advocates call it a disturbing requirement and a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
But banning trans athletes has proved to be a popular push in politics.
"If there are some, then this law would definitely be needed to protect girls," Sen. Nelson said.
"Look, I'm not a physician," said Rep. Scott. "I just want to do the commonsense thing that I think where most people are. It's probably an 80/20 issue that biological males should not compete against biological females in athletic competition."
"We're talking about children," said Braverman. "We're not making their lives better. We're making their lives difficult. We cannot legislate trans people out of existence, but we can make it extremely difficult for them to live their lives. And that's all we are accomplishing right now."
Reality check
Unlikely passage:
These bills have very slim chances of passing in this legislative session, but peer-reviewed studies show suicide rates increase by up to 72% among transgender children in states where they do pass anti-trans laws.