Iowa bill on trans athletes is about politics, not sports

When Republicans who run the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds consider transgender kids, they don’t see young fellow Iowans trying to live their authentic lives and overcome barriers, challenges and discrimination.

They see a problem, a target and a political opportunity.

That’s why the GOP is pursuing legislation intended to ban transgender girls from competing in school-sponsored sports. Under House File 2309, a student’s sex at birth would determine eligibility to play on teams designated for girls. No exceptions.

It’s a shameful use of state power to target an already marginalized minority.

The bill’s backers are wielding this power based on hypotheticals. They claim female athletes in Iowa will lose state titles and scholarship opportunities if they have to compete with transgender girls, who they contend will sweep in and use their biological advantages to dominate sports.

They cite a handful of examples in other states, but have no examples of this actually occurring in Iowa.

But this isn’t about sports. It’s about politics.

Republicans are embracing discrimination to play on the fears and discomfort of their conservative constituents, turning transgender kids into the latest scary other. Iowa would, as usual, join a list of red states taking aim at transgender student athletes. One of the few groups supporting the bill is The Family Leader, a religious conservative group that’s been working overtime to deny LGBTQ Iowans their civil rights for more than a decade.

The group once opposed allowing same-sex couples to adopt children, insisting kids would be harmed. It predicted legal same-sex marriage in Iowa would lead to the destruction of traditional marriage and polygamy, among other problems. Now, it’s telling us girls’ sports will be irreparably harmed by transgender students.

Why does anyone still listen?

School administrators and staff, who know these kids, and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, which has successfully managed girls’ sports for decades, are more than capable of addressing any issues that arise from transgender participation. The Legislature and its ranks of political opportunists have no business getting involved.

Because, after all, aside from all of this talk of scholarships, records and titles, sports are supposed to be part of a local school district’s educational mission. Learning the virtues of training, teamwork and competition can be as important to young Iowans as their academic studies.

So shoving transgender girls off the playing field isn’t about “fairness,” as backers insist. It’s an attempt to deny these students full access to a complete educational experience. It’s discrimination, plain and simple. Lawmakers should shelve the bill and resist taking yet another action that tarnishes Iowa’s once shining reputation for embracing civil rights.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com