Connecticut HS runners file complaint alleging transgender policy unfairly cost them qualifying spots, titles
Three female track athletes in Connecticut filed a federal discrimination complaint asking for an investigation into a statewide policy on transgender athletes that they allege is unfair and has cost them top finishes.
The complaint was filed Monday with the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative christian law firm that announced the news on its social pages Tuesday. The firm asks “Is this the end of female athletics?” and alleges that allowing transgender girls to compete strips biological girls of chances to win events and earn scholarships.
Connecticut runner wants ‘fairness’ on the track
The athletes claim the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) policy of allowing athletes to compete in athletics based on the gender they identify with, rather than the sex they were assigned at birth, has pushed them out of medals and chances in front of scouts. The suit compares it in “stark contrast” to the NCAA rule that requires males to be on hormone suppressants at least a year prior to competition.
The suit was filed on behalf of Selina Soule, a junior sprinter at Glastonbury High School, and two two unnamed athletes. Soule placed eighth in the 55-meter dash at the Connecticut indoor track championships this winter, missing out on the final by one spot.
Soule said two of the athletes who finished in front of her are transgender athletes and if not for them, she would have advanced to the regional meet. The top seven qualify and therefore move on to compete in front of college scouts; Soule missed seventh by three-hundredths of a second.
Soule spoke to the Associated Press earlier in the season about the issue after a transgender athlete won the event. From the AP:
‘‘We all know the outcome of the race before it even starts; it’s demoralizing. I fully support and am happy for these athletes for being true to themselves. They should have the right to express themselves in school, but athletics have always had extra rules to keep the competition fair.’’
In an appearance Tuesday on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Soule said other athletes feel opportunities are being taken away and are also impacted by the policy. She told Carlson that included her entire team missing out on an indoor track title because the team with a transgender athlete placed first.
Glastonbury finished 15 points behind Bloomfield for second place. Soule and teammates placed first in the 4x200m relay and she placed fifth in the long jump.
Complaint claims Title IX advancements ‘reversed’
The complaint claims the policy violates Title IX regulations and reverses the advances the federal statute made since it was enacted in 1972.
Said ADF legal counsel Christiana Holcomb, per ADF:
“Girls deserve to compete on a level playing field. Forcing female athletes to compete against boys is grossly unfair and destroys their athletic opportunities. Title IX was designed to eliminate discrimination against women in education and athletics, and women fought long and hard to earn the equal athletic opportunities that Title IX provides. Allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports reverses nearly 50 years of advances for women under this law. We shouldn’t force these young women to be spectators in their own sports.”
Holcomb said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” it is “fundamentally unfair” for athletes to switch from boys competitions to girls “to dominate them and take away opportunity to not only medal” but compete for a championship.
The complaint asks for an investigation and a revised policy. It also asks the CIAC to “acknowledge” every girl who would have been a champion or qualifier if not for “the participation of a male in her event.”
A conference spokesperson had no immediate comment to the Associated Press on Tuesday. The state is one of 19 that has no restrictions on allowing transgender athletes to compete, per transathlete.com.
Caster Semenya case similar, but key differences
Debate around how we divide sports along gender lines took renewed vigor this spring when the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) made its ruling against Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya.
The IAAF ruled Semenya, who was born biologically female with a “differences of sex disorder,” had to take hormone supplements to lower her natural testosterone levels to the women’s range in order to compete in events.
Court documents released Tuesday showed the IAAF argued Semenya was “biologically male with female gender identities” to get the ban instituted. It was temporarily suspended last month, though the decade-long battle may still continue.
Unlike the case filed by the Connecticut athletes, Semenya is not transgender. She was born a woman with testosterone levels that fall within what’s seen as the male range. Both cases do raise questions about how society polices gender and gender within sport.
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