Utah is one of the 12 states that has banned transgender girls from playing on teams that align with their gender. Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed the bill earlier this week. Still, since then, that veto has been overturned by the Utah Legislature.
Cox said, “I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do… all the research shows that even a little acceptance and connection can reduce suicidality significantly.”
The trans ban can be harmful for college recruiting. The only reason lawmakers are trying to put this ban on is to protect themselves from lawsuits.
On Friday, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, said the bill, “Is not about discrimination, it’s about keeping sports fair.”
In reality, 75,000 kids played high school sports in Utah and only four were trans. Of those four, just one was involved in girls’ sports. All of this is over four student athletes who want to play the sport that they love, make friends and have fun in their teenage years.
If you play a sport your entire life, you work so hard, and practice every day nonstop. Then suddenly once it’s time for college recruitment you aren’t allowed to play [in college] because of the gender you identify as.
When a trans person takes the steps to put hormones in their body, it changes their body chemistry to be more like the gender they feel inside. This bill will make it feel like all their hard work was for nothing.
According to Cleveland Clinic, anti-androgen therapy [male to female hormones] blocks male sex hormone production. Changes from anti-androgen therapy include, decreased muscle mass, fewer erections, change in sex drive, smaller testicles and thinning facial and body hair.
Knowing these facts, having someone who is transgender on a college team will not give them the upper hand.
This ban will affect how people choose their university going forward. With the way Dixie State University is wanting to move forward and be more diversified especially with the name change to Utah Tech University they should not follow along with this ban. Following this ban will not help diversify the campus or its sports teams.
This ban is definitely going to have a negative effect on the trans community moving forward. A lot of trans people might feel they are not allowed to play sports or even try to be at a higher level than high school sports.
The Trevor Project states, “New policies that will ban transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams and transgender boys from playing on boys’ sports teams make 74% of transgender and nonbinary youth feel angry, 57% feel sad, 43% feel stressed, and nearly 1 in 3 feel scared.”
Not only will it affect them in a sports connotation but anything negative that happens towards the transgender community will affect every single one of their mental health.
