Op-Ed Sign On: Athletes Support Trans Kids

Alaska Athletes Support Trans Kids

Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Alaska are coordinating an op-ed to the Anchorage Daily News in support of transgender children playing sports on school teams that align with their gender identity, and are looking for additional athletes to sign on in support.

You can sign the very quick google form here.

The deadline to sign is this Sunday, June 25.

Language of the op-ed:

We are athletes from Alaska, and we support transgender children playing sports on teams that align with their gender identity. Our backgrounds are diverse, ranging from K-12 to Olympic-level competitive sports. We believe all children deserve the same opportunities to play, lose, win, and learn.

It can be hard to understand what it means to be transgender, especially if you’ve never met a transgender person. But we can all agree that transgender kids should be treated with dignity and respect, just like everyone else. Trans kids are kids; just like your kids and like the kid you used to be. Trans kids like all the same things those kids like. They like to learn, dance, play, sing, and compete in sports.

In 2021, the state legislature proposed a statewide anti-trans sports ban that was stopped after overwhelming public testimony, and a similar ban by the Alaska School Activities Association was tabled after public testimony last month. But now the Alaska Board of Education has proposed a similar regulation change that would violate every student’s privacy and prohibit trans children from playing sports on teams that match their gender identity. We want to encourage the Board of Education to consider how that change would hurt trans children and all of Alaska’s young people.

Every child deserves to know what it’s like to compete in sports. They deserve to learn what it’s like to be tied 24-24 in the third set of a volleyball game, or pushing to the limit to beat a PR. What it’s like to lift up and be lifted up by your teammates. The rush and euphoria of a hard fought win! Trans kids deserve that. They also deserve to know what it’s like to have to ride the bus back home after their team didn’t play its best. To feel like they could have done better, to experience disappointment, and to learn from it. To get back to practice with a supportive coach. These are experiences that any athlete knows. They are experiences that build character, fortitude, and lifelong memories.

The purpose of school sports is not to train Olympians or elite athletes, although many Olympians and elite athletes may come out of Alaska’s K-12 sports teams. The purpose of K-12 sports in Alaska is to teach students skills like leadership, hard work, teamwork, inclusion, sportsmanship, self discipline, perseverance, and communication. Not only do trans students benefit from learning these skills, but their participation enriches those skills for others. Too often, though, requiring that a trans student compete with the sports team corresponding to their sex assigned at birth means that they don’t compete at all. 

Cisgender students suffer under this policy as well, because enforcing the policy will require diminishing the privacy of all students in order to determine their sex assigned at birth. Every student is up for questioning or investigation by adults who should be there as trusted mentors, not gender police.

We urge the Alaska Department of Education to live their mission and continue to work towards providing an excellent experience for every student by not adopting the proposed regulation changes.

You can sign the quick google form here.

The deadline to sign is this Sunday, June 25.