Soccer Star Megan Rapinoe Pushes For Transgender Athletes In Girls Sports

[Ubiquitous]

U.S. Women’s Soccer star Megan Rapinoe on Sunday advocated for the
inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, despite
the physical advantages biological males have over biological females.

Rapinoe, who often promotes left-wing politics, claimed legislation
seeking to separate athletics by biological sex rather than gender
identity are an “attack” on transgender people and an attempt to “solve
a problem that doesn’t exist.”

“These bills are some of the most intense political assaults on LGBTQ
people in recent years. Sports have become another avenue to attack the
rights of trans people,” she argued in an essay published at The
Washington Post. “These efforts cause incredible harm to trans youth,
who, like all kids in a global pandemic, are feeling isolated and need
compassion and support.”

“Proponents of these bills argue that they are protecting women,”
Rapinoe continued. “As a woman who has played sports my whole life, I
know that the threats to women’s and girls’ sports are lack of funding,
resources, and media coverage; sexual harassment; and equal pay. …
Adults can’t present that we care about the well-being of children
while actively creating environments that cause serious harm to them.
We can’t make demands for a false sense of fairness while ignoring the
actual needs of women and girls.”

“Transgender kids deserve the same chances to enjoy sports; to gain
confidence, self-respect and leadership skills; and to learn what it
means to be part of a team,” she wrote. “When we tell transgender girls
that they can’t play girls’ sports — or transgender boys that they
can’t play boys’ sports — they miss out on these important experiences
and opportunities. And we lose the right to say we care about
children.”

Barring transgender girls from girls’ sports is “discrimination,”
Rapinoe claimed.

“Discrimination hurts everyone. We’re stronger as teams, and as a
country, when all people who love sports have a chance to have their
lives changed for the better, just like I did. I want every transgender
kid out there to know that they can live their dreams and be true to
who they are. For them to realize those dreams, they need to be allowed
to play.”

The Biden administration is on the same side as Rapinoe. The Department
of Justice last month withdrew support for a lawsuit brought by three
high school female athletes that would block biological males from
competing in girls’ sports in Connecticut, The Daily Wire reported. The
suit was backed by Trump-nominated former Attorney General Bill Barr.

One of three girls who had brought the lawsuit, Alanna Smith, in clear
disagreement with Rapinoe, blasted the Biden administration over the
withdrawal during a recent appearance on Fox News.

“I got involved after I ran against the biological males at the New
England meet because in the 200 meter I took third place when I should
have gotten runner-up,” she said. “And it’s not really about placement
but it’s all about knowing that I work so many hours a week to be able
to get runner-up in New England’s [championships] as a freshman. And I
am really disappointed in the news, because me and the other girls,
Selina and Chelsea, have worked really hard to get our stories out
there, to get people to realize that fairness needs to be restored in
our sport and all other women’s sports.”

Smith added that “people should realize that a lot of biological
females have missed out on making it to meets that really matter, like
states and regionals, and the transgender athletes have taken spots on
the podium that belong to biological females.”

“We train for so many days a week, so many hours to be able to be the
best in our state and the best in our region, and these biological
males are just taking it away from us and we really deserve it,” the
athlete said.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on January 20 stating,
“Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they
will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school
sports.”

According to the Austin American-Statesman, the order “does not impose
any new guidelines that would immediately bring changes to school
sports … Instead, it requires federal agencies, including the U.S.
Education Department, to review existing policies and programs to
determine whether they are in line with the new guidance prohibiting
discrimination based on gender and sexuality, and to implement changes
if needed.”

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Trump won.