I was the fastest girl in Connecticut. But transgender athletes made it an unfair fight.
By: Chelsea Mitchell
This article author is exactly right about this issue. It’s terrible what is happening to girls and women’s sports and what is being done to title IX. Thanks for out to Alliance Defending Freedom for taking her case to the higher courts and to USA Today for letting her tell America what is happening to girls and young women in sports.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
I was the fastest girl in Connecticut. But transgender athletes made it an unfair fight.
When I was forced to race male bodies on the track, colleges didn’t see the fastest female in Connecticut. They saw a second- or third-place runner.
It’s February 2020. I’m crouched at the starting line of the high school girls’ 55-meter indoor race. This should be one of the best days of my life. I’m running in the state championship, and I’m ranked the fastest high school female in the 55-meter dash in the state. I should be feeling confident. I should know that I have a strong shot at winning.
Instead, all I can think about is how all my training, everything I’ve done to maximize my performance, might not be enough, simply because there’s a transgender runner on the line with an enormous physical advantage.
I won that race, and I'm grateful. But time after time, I have lost. I’ve lost four women’s state championship titles , two all-New England awards, and numerous other spots on the podium to transgender runners. I was bumped to third place in the 55-meter dash in 2019, behind two transgender runners. With every loss, it gets harder and harder to try again.
That’s a devastating experience. It tells me that I’m not good enough; that my body isn’t good enough; and that no matter how hard I work, I am unlikely to succeed, because I’m a woman.
Don't eliminate women's sports
That experience is why three of my fellow female athletes and I filed a lawsuit last year with Alliance Defending Freedom against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC): because girls and women shouldn’t be stripped of their right to fair competition.
The CIAC allows biological males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports . As a result, two transgender athletes began racing in girls’ track in 2017. In the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons alone, these runners took 15 women’s state track championship titles (titles held in 2016 by nine different girls) and more than 85 opportunities to participate in higher level competitions that belonged to female track athletes.
That’s because males have massive physical advantages. Their bodies are simply bigger and stronger on average than female bodies. It’s obvious to every single girl on the track.
But Connecticut officials are determined to ignore the obvious. And unfortunately, a federal district court recently dismissed our case. The court’s decision to do so tells women and girls that their feelings and opportunities don’t matter, and that they can’t expect anyone to stand up for their dignity and their rights.
Don't ignore the obvious: Transgender athletes deserve compassion, but not the right to transform women's sports
That’s wrong. And it chips away at women’s confidence and our belief in our own abilities.
It’s happened to me over and over. Every time I walk up to the starting line, I try to tell myself that I can overcome the unfair odds — I can win, even though the race is stacked against me.
Hurting female athletes' futures
But besides the psychological toll of experiencing unfair losses over and over, the CIAC’s policy has more tangible harms for women. It robs girls of the chance to race in front of college scouts who show up for elite metes, and to compete for the scholarships and opportunities that come with college recruitment. I’ll never know how my own college recruitment was impacted by losing those four state championship titles. When colleges looked at my record, they didn’t see the fastest girl in Connecticut. They saw a second- or third-place runner.
Retired high school coach: In real life, transgender girls in sports are a non-controversy
And it’s not just happening to me. My friend and fellow plaintiff Selina Soule was bumped from qualifying for the state championship 55-meter final and an opportunity to qualify for the New England championship by a transgender runner in 2019. Meanwhile, Alanna Smith, an incredibly talented female athlete, was the second-place female runner in the 200-meter at the New England Regional Championships, but was dropped to third behind a transgender competitor.
It’s discouraging that the federal district court has decided that these experiences — these lost opportunities — simply don’t matter.
But I’m not beaten yet. And neither are my fellow female athletes.
Through our ADF attorneys, my fellow athletes and I are appealing the federal district court’s ruling. We’re taking our case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, where we are going to ask once again for the court to recognize our right to fair competition — a right that Title IX has promised to girls and women for 50 years. And we’re fighting not just for ourselves, but for all female athletes.
So as we prepare for this next step in the case, I’m settling into my starting blocks again, but for a different kind of race. And this time, I’m confident that we can win.
Chelsea Mitchell is an award-winning athlete from Canton High School in Connecticut. She is running track at the collegiate level.
Tags
Who is online
355 visitors
I would be shocked if a 17 or 18 year old girl actually wrote the seeded article.
With no corroborating evidence, I'm not even sure I believe the story. Sounds like sour grapes for not winning a race.
It was an opinion not a news article, and I just linked an actual article about this lawsuit.
You seriously need to read the content before commenting. You’re shooting your mouth off all over this seed about things you would know you were getting wrong if only you had read the article.
The article is full of links that turn the text blue here on NT and create blue underlines on the USA Today site.
For example, where she writes,
there is a link to this article:
Mitchell, the fastest girl in Connecticut, wins State Open title in 55 meters
And where she writes this,
there is a link to this story:
‘Frustrating and Disheartening’: 3 Girls, Losing to Biological Males in Track, Announce Lawsuit
There are several links in the article for the various claims she makes. All you have to do it read it and follow the links.
Why? High school kids can’t be good writers?
18 or 19 year olds dont talk like that, although I will say its not impossible she wrote it all herself, I just seriously doubt it.
I think you haven’t met enough 18 or 19 year olds. There are some very smart, articulate young people in the world.
I am not questioning the girl's intelligence, but I think it is fairly obvious that a teenager didnt write that column by themselves.
It is truly not obvious to me.
10 Youngest Child Authors Who Prove Age Is Just a Number
.
23 Writers Who Were Famous by Age 23
Anyway, what do you mean by “by themselves?” Whenever I write anything that will be submitted for an important audience, I get other people to read and give me feedback. That doesn’t diminish the composition.
You're starting to sea lion.
Exactly how do you figure?
Lol...not playin'
Then maybe you shouldn’t troll on by with random accusations if you’re not prepared to support them.
Look who’s talking.
It’s ok. I’m not keeping score.
I do have a lot of nerve!
I would be shocked if Barack Obama ever wrote one damn word for any of his books.
I would be even more shocked if Donald Trump did.
Which doesn't matter one damn bit as to the content of this article just like your statement. Ignoring the content to attack the author is bush league.
Nothing. It is his standard MO....deflection.
So you can beat a transgirl. What's the issue?
So? Were you never beaten by a non-transgirl?
Poor poor baby... Here's a participation trophy!
So a transgirl can't compete in your sport because you feel bad? Actual hard data in track and field shows trans athletes have no advantage or disadvantage against others in their sport, but you feel special?
Obviously that "transgirl" was not the top runner while still a 'boy" and made the decided move to compete with girls thinking he/she would stand a better chance at winning. Girl dashed the boys dreams.
Doesn't sound like a Democrat who needs a participation trophy just for showing up to me. Sounds dedicated and wishing to reap the rewards she has worked for a lot of her life.
You are saying a dude became a "girl" in order to win high school track meets? When everyone who made the tiniest inquiry would know that was what led to the victory? I find that extremely hard to believe.
You get all that from a story, not by the trans-gendered girl? I think you are reading a lot into the story that you WANT to be in the story. Truth be damned.
Actually it sounds like a bunch of sour grapes. Not only was she beaten by a trans-gendered girl ( if you believe her ), but she was beaten by another girl as well. Sounds like she trying to find someone else to blame for her not winning.... Which would put her in the republican mindset.
Really? The actual data in track and field done by medical science shows that to be false. These girls go through months and years of therapy and drug therapy. But hey, you believe that losing the testicles and growing breasts was only to game the high school sports system, huh?
It is so rare USA Today has a feature article about it.
Shut up Hal!
Okay Lux.
Bingo.
People think that if someone wants gender reassignment they just go on in to a hospital and get it done. A person has to do months of hormone replacement therapy and psychological counseling. No person would be approved it their reason was just to win a track meet.
Is that really how you understand the situation? Which part of “unfair advantage” do you not understand?
Do you know baseball at all? Barry Bonds played with the unfair advantage of steroids. That didn’t mean he won every game or hit a home run every time he went to bat, but only an idiot would argue that he didn’t have an unfair advantage.
I'm tired of the bigotry on constant display here on the site. It's disgusting! Show me the medical research to back you up here. I laid out links to medical research in the last article posted on this subject.
It is when the science shows the playing field is level. It is when those that insist it's just a dude that's gaming a system or mentally unfit.
When you find evidence of actual males competing against females I'll agree with you. This article isn't talking about that. It's talking about trans-females.
Like usual you got nothing.
Haters gotta hate.
What about "unfair advantage" when men take steroids to play pro ball or to bulk up for weight lifting competitions? Even Arnold S admitted to doing it but quit decades ago. How is that fair to the men who put in just plain hard work and dedication to achieve the strength and bodies they need. I dare certain people here to defend this simply because they are men.
There’s no bigotry. No one cares what these people do with their lives, how they express their feelings about sex and gender, or whether or not they pursue hormone treatments or surgery. No one cares about any of that. What they care about is fair competition and a chance for girls to achieve success in competition against other girls. This is not an attack on transgendered people. It’s a defense of fair treatment for girls.
Oh, are we supposed to go hunting through the lame search engine of this site to try and verify this? That’s not going to happen. If you have links you want people to look at, post them here. I have also posted links on past stories that support my position, but I don’t expect you to have memorized them. It’s a pretty arrogant double standard to demand I show you links when you aren’t showing me any.
Nevertheless, here’s a few for you:
Muscle strength, size and composition following 12 months of gender-affirming treatment in transgender individuals: retained advantage for the transwomen
and
Effect of gender affirming hormones on athletic performance in transwomen and transmen: implications for sporting organisations and legislators
These studies show that even when you treat biological females with hormones to make them more man-like (aka trans men), and biological males treated with female hormones to make them more woman-like (aka trans women), even after two years those trans women were still stronger or faster than biological women, but also even stronger or faster than the biological women who have been trying to transition to being male.
The most recent scholarship indicates that even after three years of treatment, advantages remain.
Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage
and
How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation
And in the Connecticut story we don’t even have any evidence that these trans male athletes have been through any treatment at all.
Given time, hormone treatment can change a body some , but it doesn’t change everything about the male body that gives advantages over females in athletics.
Consider the skeleton, for example. No amount of hormone treatments is going to undo the development of the pelvis, and this construction is markedly different in males and females. In a male, the pelvis forms in such a way as to allow the legs to grow more directly underneath the rest of the body, making males more efficient runners. Males also develop larger hands and feet, which benefit them athletically. They also develop longer limbs relative to the rest of their body, allowing them to generate greater leverage. So even if muscle mass can be reduced, a trans female athlete will still be able to maintain longer muscles for her frame than a biological female and employ superior leverage for moving feet and legs.
Additionally, males develop larger hearts and lungs relative to the rest of the body than females do, allowing them to process oxygen more efficiently. Those organs don’t simply shrink to female-size because a man starts taking hormones.
Can we - through hormone treatments - make a male more like a female? Absolutely! But they will always retain certain physical advantages over biological females, making their participation in competitive sports unfair. This is why several professional female athletes have come out against the practice of allowing trans males to compete against girls. It’s also why Caitlin Jenner (formerly Decathlon gold-medalist Bruce) is against it. And I would think he is in a position to understand whether or not he has retained the physical advantages of male development.
Again, it’s not about anti-trans bigotry. It’s about defending female athletes.
With all these bills it sounds like they do.
How is it only now this has become an issue? If it were about fairness with girls how come these same conservative states aren't also making a push to categorize cheerleading a sport? I mean if it's to treat girls fairly and all.
|
People aren't trans unless they are, or have, gone through treatment. If they don't go through treatment they, in my opinion, should not compete. Actually they should be allow to participate, but not be given placement, ribbons or trophies.
Correct, and that is why I've stuck to the topic in the article about track and field. That distinction is also made in all the data I've ever link to.
The woman doing the study is trans and a proponent of only allowing transitioned people compete as well.
Kudos for actually posting links. I WILL read them when I'm not working... When people post bullshit about "born a man, always a man" or "mental defects" or "some guy just wants to win" - IT MOST DEFINATLY IS anti-trans bigotry.
FYI - transgender people make up less than 2% of the population, and trans kids are one-sixth as likely as cisgender kids to go out for school sports. This translates into less than 50 trans high school athletes total nation wide - break that down between trans sexes and further into individual sports and were barely into double digits on this one topic. Fuck yeah its so much of a problem we're making laws to ban one or two kids in a few states from participating in something they find happiness in. In a world that keeps trying to fuck them over every day of their lives.
People disagree with me all the time and I don't ever have to call them bigots. I do call out ignorant bigotry when someone come up with
It is evident you don't know what you're talking about and can only speak emotionally on this issue rather than look to experts on physiology, biology and phycology. Bigots couldn't stop same sex marriage, they won't stop people transitioning. Under the Constitution and laws of our great nation people can't discriminate against a class of people because they don't like them. We are not yet a facisist theocracy.
Furthermore where this not about bigotry, but states still thought trans track athletes had any advantage they would bring in real experts to craft a policy that would address the issue of the advantage and not an outright ban.
Make/female sports need to be separated by your sex, not gender. I don’t really care if you identify as a girl, if your sex is male you are competing with males.
That’s the whole thing. It has always been based on biology. Now, people want to act like that’s not even a factor.
I agree.
“Transwomen are currently mandated by World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee to have 1 year of testosterone suppression before being permitted to compete at the elite level,” Roberts said. “This may be too short if the aim is a level playing field.”
I dont like transgenders competing in high school girls sports.
But the fact is it is rare , and other protections related to sexual identity should not be held hostage to the rare instance of a "boy" playing in girls sports.
Oh I am not saying that protections for transgender folks and all that should be rolled back or attacked.
Literally all I am saying is that sports need to be segregated by sex, not gender.
Have you ever heard of Tami Maita aka The Quarterback Princess? She wanted to play quarterback for the high school football team. However, because she is a girl, everyone from the coach to her next door neighbor is against her. Tami goes out to prove that not only can she play football but she can win the state championship. Not only does Tami succeed, she also became the homecoming princess. She clearly had the ability and the talent. Would you have denied her the right to play simply because of her sex and a girl playing in a boy's sport?
Then there is Mo'Ne Davis -- Little League World Series star
Davis became a baseball sensation for her amazing pitching in the 2014 Little League World Series. Throwing a 70 mph fastball for her Philadelphia team, Davis became the first girl to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history. She was a girl playing in a "boy's" sport. Should she have been denied due to her sex?
We aren't talking about cross dressing. Simply "identifying" does not make one trans.
No one ever said life is fair, train harder, longer, smarter until you can take the podium (because no one is ever going to hand it to you)
If a transgirl's physique and stamina are more in line with a male's then maybe they should compete with men instead of women. On the other hand, if the reason they "transed" is because their physique and stamina were more in line with a female's, then what's the problem? The problem here is, who makes the decision?
This one seems like an easy call.
Maybe humans are overly competitive to begin with. I laugh at overzealous competitiveness every day. I’ve got a friend who is absolutely obsessed with watching sports. He spends thousands of dollars a year traveling to sports events of all sorts, tailgates, gambles on sports, etc.. I went to one of his kid’s soccer games and he spent most of the time pacing back and forth screaming, then left in a fowl mood because they lost. What a miserable existence.