Bill: No transgender athletes in women's sports

For two days the House State Affairs Committee mulled over a battle between the biological sex and gender identity of Idaho’s scholastic athletes. The hearing saw testimony from both sides of the issue where tears fell, voices were raised, and passions rang high.

House Bill 500, proposed by Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, would require transgender athletes to participate under their birth-given sex.

“This bill is about preserving opportunities for girls and women, the very opportunities that were created for me as an 8-year-old kid with Title IX back in 1972,” said Ehardt. “The fact of the matter is that girls and women cannot compete against the inherent differences of biological boys and men, they are too great.”

Ehardt says that transgender athletes pose a threat to the historic progress of female sports, arguing that girls and women are being denied chances to win and compete because of physical ability.

“Every girl deserves a chance to pursue her dreams to compete and excel in athletic opportunities,” said Ehardt. “Forcing girls and women to compete against biological boys and men has too often made us spectators in our own sports.”

An athlete in question can prove their sex by a signed physician statement that evaluates their reproductive anatomy, levels of testosterone and genetic makeup. These requirements would involve a pelvic exam, blood or urine testing, and swab analysis. Ehardt says these tests are not invasive procedures and are part of regular check-ups for participating on a school team.

The Idaho Falls representative equated the requirements to other standards school athletes are held to like GPA, age, and weight.

“Are these discriminatory? No. They allow us to put forth what is considered necessary to create a level playing field,” said Ehardt.

Co-sponsor Senator Mary Souza’s, R-Coeur d’Alene, detailed the biological differences between men and women such as men’s greater lung volume, a higher red blood cell count, testosterone levels, larger body size, and longer limbs.

“Men have a much higher muscle ratio, they have larger hearts, they have lower fat content, their knees are at a different angle,” said Souza. “If [women] are competing against males who have stronger bones, straighter alignment with their pelvis, there’s a natural advantage for the male.”

The bill’s supporters cited examples that displayed the natural advantage of men over women in sports. Including the male tennis player that defeated both Serena and Venus Williams in 1998, the male youth soccer team that beat the U.S. women’s national team in a scrimmage in 2017, and the two male-to-female transgender athletes from Connecticut who have won 15 women’s track championship titles since 2017.

Some lawmakers weren’t so quick to agree with the proposed policy change. Rep. Brooke Green, D-Boise, pointed out that the Idaho Highschool Student Athletic Association, NCAA and Olympic Committee already have rules in place that apply to transgender athletes.

“Why is it we are holding our athletes at a different standard than the ones who go to play at the highest stage in the world?” said Green.

Idaho’s policy requires a transgender athlete must complete one year of medically prescribed hormone treatment before competing on the female team. At this time no students have appealed the current rule, nor has the policy been used in seven or eight years.

The legislation brought troves of people to the Statehouse this week, where a packed committee room heard from parents, students, athletes, state agency officials, and medical professionals. Much of the testimony focused on the bill’s effect on all student-athletes and Idaho’s LGBTQ community.

“For trans students who fear bullying, transphobia and harassment at school the ability to participate on a sports team that matches their authentic gender can be a lifeline,” said Mistie Tolman, Idaho state director at Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii. “The ability to participate in student athletics is associated with better self-esteem, an increased sense of belonging at school, and improved grades.”

Some audience members also tied the legislation to its potentially negative effects on Idaho law and state-enforced discrimination.

“Arguments that this bill protects girls whose biological sex aligns with their gender identity are faulty and perpetuates discrimination that lays the foundation for violence in our communities,” said Annie Hightower, the director of Law & Policy for Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. “This bill will only serve to create more fear in our students.”

By the end of the second day, 17 people opposed the legislation and seven people testified in favor.

“We don’t need girls committing suicide because they keep getting beat by boys in sports over and over,” said Brian Stutzman from Idaho Falls. “The real girls out there, the XXers, deserve the yes vote [on this bill].”

The bill’s supporters warned how it could alter the future of female athletics and the careers of Idaho girls and women.

“It is not exclusionary to say that biological males should play with boys and not women,” said Blaine Conzatti, director of advocacy for Family Policy Alliance of Idaho. “The only excluding taking place is when biological males take the limited championship slots and scholarships in girls sports.”

Ehardt says the bill does not intend to discriminate LGBTQ students and has said she personally supports transgender persons.

“We are not keeping anyone from identifying however they want, and I sincerely mean that they are absolutely able to continue to identify however they choose to identify, it’s just that with other standards that are laid out specifically for sports as well as other things this is a means by which it is determined will you be playing on the girls and women’s team or the boys and men,” said Ehardt.

House State Affairs voted in favor of the bill divided on party lines. It will now be brought to the floor by Ehardt and if passed there will head to the Senate.

Madison Hardy is an intern with the University of Idaho McClure Center for Public Policy Research and the UI JAMM News Service.