Three high school girls from Connecticut have filed a federal discrimination complaint over being forced to race against biological males in track competitions.
Losing races to biological males has hurt the girls’ chances of top finishes in races and possibly receiving scholarships for their performances.
One track runner, Selina Soule, was kept from advancing in the New England girls’ track regionals.
Soule needed to finish in one of the top 6 positions to advance, but finished 8th after being beaten by two biological males.
She teamed up with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to file the complaint which cites Title IX federal rules that provide equal rights for female athletes.
The Glastonbury junior sprinter and ADF attorney Christiana Holcomb joined Tucker Carlson on Monday night to make their case.
“I’ve gotten nothing but support from my teammates and from other athletes, but I have experienced some retaliation from school officials and coaches,” Soule told Carlson.
On Wednesday, Soule said she fears retaliation after her appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Soule’s mother, Bianca Stanescu, has been gathering signatures for over a year in an attempt to get the state legislature to require athletes to compete in sports based on their birth genders.
“There is a serious disadvantage,” Stanescu said. “There are situations like athletics where your personal decision, personal choice and personal view of who you are doesn’t change who you actually are biologically and physiologically.”
Soule spoke out in the following report, saying, “No one thinks it’s fair because we all know that males are physically stronger than females.”
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference has a policy allowing biological males who identify as females to compete in girls’ athletic events.
According to Transathlete.com, a website dedicated to tracking trans state policies on high school sports in America, Connecticut is one of at least 17 states that allow transgender high school athletes to compete without restrictions.
One transgender athlete who competed against Soule broke 10 state records previously held by biological women.
Two transgender female athletes named in the complaint, Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, have each released statements.
Terry Miller Statement:
I have faced discrimination in every aspect of my life and I no longer want to remain silent. I am a girl and I am a runner. I participate in athletics just like my peers to excel, find community and meaning in my life. It is both unfair and painful that my victories have to be attacked and my hard work ignored. Living in a state that protects my rights is something that I do not take for granted. So many young trans people face exclusion at school and in athletics and it contributes to the horrible pain and discrimination that my community faces. The more we are told that we don’t belong and should be ashamed of who we are, the fewer opportunities we have to participate in sports at all. And being an athlete can help us survive. But instead we are being told to be quiet, to go home, to stop being who we are. I will continue to fight for all trans people to compete and participate consistent with who we are. There is a long history of excluding Black girls from sport and policing our bodies. I am a runner and I will keep running and keep fighting for my existence, my community and my rights.
Andraya Yearwood Statement:
I have known two things for most of my life: I am a girl and I love to run. There is no shortage of discrimination that I face as a young Black woman who is transgender. I have to wake up every day in a world where people who look like me face so many scary and unfair things. I am lucky to live in a state that protects my rights and to have a family that supports me. This is what keeps me going. Every day I train hard – I work hard to succeed on the track, to support my teammates, and to make my community proud. It is so painful that people not only want to tear down my successes but take down the laws and policies that protect people like me. I will never stop being me! I will never stop running! I hope that the next generation of trans youth doesn’t have to fight the fights that I have. I hope they can be celebrated when they succeed not demonized. For the next generation, I run for you!
This is far from the first example of male-to-female transgender individuals winning awards and shattering records in the sports world.
In April, transgender powerlifter Mary Gregory smashed four women’s powerlifting world records.
Follow the author on Twitter @Kelenmcbreen!
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!