It’s not fair that some athletes have access to high-quality coaching and resources while others don’t. It’s also not fair that Michael Phelps was blessed with a wide wingspan and unusually large hands and feet.
Science won’t answer the human question of whether we ought to shut out kids from participating in the cultural touchstone that is youth sports.
In a run-of-the-mill interview I caught of the Minnesota softball player, filmed before the controversy exploded, she seemed like any other young athlete, with a shy smile, swelling with pride over the work she put into her game. I can’t fault the high school league for opening its doors so kids like her have a shot in athletics. She’s learning how to find grace under pressure, the values of teamwork and mastering a skill she was maybe once terrible at.
I couldn’t imagine denying that vital opportunity to any kid, especially one who is more vulnerable to bullying and depression.
Now is the time to find an acceptable balance between the extremes. In California last week, organizers of the state high school track and field championship duplicated medals and changed the rules so more girls could compete in events that included a trans athlete. Trump had threatened to cut funding to the state if it allowed a trans girl to compete, and a plane flew over the stadium with a banner that read “No Boys in Girls’ Sports!”
The new rule allowed AB Hernandez, a transgender athlete, to share her state title victories — and her place on the the podium — with the cisgender girls who finished behind her. In one scene captured by the New York Times, Hernandez and one of her competitors put their hands around each other and posed for photos with their medals.