Soccer star, Megan Rapinoe and a proud member of the LGBTQ community have spoken about recent legislation and even propositions worldwide that limits transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports, calling them “monstrous”.
The US Women’s National Team leader talked to Time magazine about her view of transgender athletes and how their activities can be impacted by new regulations that might limit their participation. The soccer player said that she is “100% supportive of trans inclusion” and that the bills that are being discussed send a message that trans people are “gross and different and evil and sinful and they can’t play sports with their friends that they grew up with” — is “monstrous.”
She went on to explain that, in her point of view, the true meaning of these bills is that sport is more important than people’s lives. “So much of this trans inclusion argument has been put through the extremely tiny lens of elite sports. Like that is not the way that we need to be framing this question.”
Megan added that to her, is more important to let kids feel included and save them from possible bullying that could undermine them and even take them to attempt against their own lives.
“I’m sorry, your kid’s high school volleyball team just isn’t that important,” she told Time. “It’s not more important than any one kid’s life.”
She also said that those people who are trying to pass on these bills and support them, need to “get a grip on reality and take a step back”, as a way to realize that having a trans people in a team will not represent “an unfair advantage over their kid”.
“Show me the evidence that trans women are taking everyone’s scholarships, are dominating in every sport, are winning every title,” Rapinoe told Time. “I’m sorry, it’s just not happening. So we need to start from inclusion, period. And as things arise, I have confidence that we can figure it out.”
Over the past couple of years, eighteen states have enacted laws to exclude and ban transgender girls and women from competing in women’s sports, being the last one in Texas.
In addition, in recent days the swimming world governing body, Fina, voted to bar transgender women from elite female competitions, arguing an advantage of having gone through male puberty. A decision many have seen as discriminatory and judgemental.
