Sports journalists have a responsibility to speak up and speak out against the escalating attacks on transgender people in sports and beyond. This is an expression of our solidarity in this fight for the safety and dignity of transgender athletes and the trans community at large.
In the last three years, an onslaught of laws targeting trans Americans have come up through state legislatures across the country. In the first three months of 2023, dozens of anti-trans laws have made their way through committees, with some actually becoming law. These laws include limiting or outright banning gender-affirming care, criminalizing chosen gender expression, and critically, bans on trans athletes participating in sports leagues that reflect their gender identity. Many of these laws specifically target children, their education, and their freedom to participate in recreational activities.
Sports has become a very public battleground for the anti-trans movement. Public hysteria over trans athletes competing in leagues that reflect their gender identity has been a catalyst in the legislative movement to criminalize and erase trans people from visible public life. In 2022, there were over 55 bills put through committee that would ban specifically transgender girls and women from competing in sports leagues for girls and women.
To put this wave of laws into perspective, there are about 1.6 million trans people in the United States. Trans people make up less than .5% of America’s population. In sports, the story is no different. When Utah Governor Spencer Cox vetoed a ban on trans athletes, he cited the number that only four out of 85,000 child athletes in Utah were trans. Only one of the four athletes was competing in girls sports. Cox rejected the ban on the grounds that it was cruel to legislate the lives of four people doing nothing but living their lives freely and in a way that affirms their identity.
This is also the grounds that we, sports journalists, reject anti-trans laws and fear-mongering coverage of trans people. The disproportions between the number of trans people in America and the number of laws seeking to erase them perfectly illustrates the cruelty that animates anti-trans sentiment.
And the stakes are high.
Discrimination against trans people, both at the personal and the legal level, is connected to skyrocketing homelessness rates for trans children and adults. Denial of gender-affirming care can be a death sentence for trans children. Denying trans athletes social affirmation through sports can be similarly harmful.
As if the attacks on trans people were not enough to animate our solidarity, we must also recognize the history of anti-trans sentiment as a gateway to widely spread repression campaigns. In 1933, the Nazis raided Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, the world’s first Transgender Clinic. The Nazis burned over 20,000 research books on gender and sexuality. This was one of the first major Nazi book burnings, and a signal of things to come for queer people under Nazi Occupation. 50,000 queer people were jailed by the Nazis, 15,000 of them sent to concentration camps. Most of those 15,000 people died in those camps.
Decades later, the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States put transgender people on the frontlines. While police were raiding queer spaces across the United States in the 1960s, it was transgender people who were disproportionately jailed. It was also transgender activists like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera who led the protests at Stonewall that catalyzed a nationwide fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Today, we already see the evolution of anti-trans sentiment into a larger anti-LGBTQ+ movement: A few weeks ago, a same-sex marriage ban proposal popped up in Iowa. Factor in the antisemitic roots of anti-trans ideology, and it becomes obvious that this path we are going down, which is already extremely dangerous for trans people, threatens the social and legal safety of millions more.
What responsibility do we have as journalists? Sports are at the center of our communities. They bring people together across towns, cities, and states. No matter our race, gender, sexuality or class, we pile into stadiums or onto couches to share the experience of sport. We cover these games because we love them, the athletes that play them and the catharsis they provide for communities nationwide.
Why deprive trans people of this experience? Why say no to the children who just want to participate in one of humanity’s oldest forms of bonding? It is cruel. Plain and simple. The point is to inflict cruelty and propagate fear in a realm that should be about joy and teamwork.
Sports have been a vehicle for radical social change, and journalists have to recognize the moment in history in which we stand, and what has come before us. Jackie Robinson, Bill Russell and Muhammad Ali smashed barriers in their time. They paved the way not just for the integration of sports leagues, but tearing down popular and hateful notions about Black people. Today, we have an opportunity to help tear down notions and make the world a safer, kinder place for trans people.
Today, tomorrow and for the rest of time, we reject this anti-trans panic campaign. We reject fear-mongering coverage of trans people just trying to live their lives. Some of us are trans, trans people are our family members, our friends, our neighbors and our colleagues. And even if they weren’t, we’d raise our voice for them. We will use our voices as sports journalists to advocate for the equitable treatment, safety, and dignity of trans people in sports and beyond.
In Solidarity,
Aaron Kaufman, iHeart Media
Aaron Nagler, Cheesehead TV
Adam Ward, SB Nation
Addison Jarecki, UK Baseball
Agnes Wong
Akil Guruparan, Tar Heel Blog
Alex Mercer
Alexa Ross, WXIN/WTTV
Alexis Chassen, SB Nation
Allison McCague, SB Nation
Andrew Harbaugh, Nittany Lions Wire
Anne Tokarski
Arif Hasan, Pro Football Network
Aryanna Prasad
Becca Henschel, Japers’ Rink
Ben Natan, SB Nation
Bill Carroll, Team NBS Sports
Bill Kenney
Bill Williamson, SB Nation
Billy Marshall, BlueWire
Brady Klopfer, SB Nation
Brandon Lee Gowton, SB Nation
Brandon Olson, Locked On/Sports Illustrated
Brendan Heffernan, The Transfer Portal CFB
Brendan Mortensen, MASN
Brett Holden, Locked on Oilers
Brian Salvatore, SB Nation
Bryan Bastin, On the Forecheck
Bryan Joiner, Over the Monster
Cameron Tabatabaie, Celtics Lab Podcast
Carl Pavlock, Five for Howling
Charles McDonald, Yahoo Sports
Chris McShane, SB Nation
Christian Romo, SB Nation
Conor McQuiston, NextGenStats
Connor Newcomb, Locked on Orioles
Cory Eiferman, MLB Network
Cory Kinnan, Browns Wire
Dakota Schmidt, Mexico City Capitanes
Dalton Miller, Pro Football Network
Daniel Morse
Daniel Wade, Locked On Chargers
Daniel Waldman, Bleacher Report
David Zirin, The Nation
Deana Weinheimer, Field Pass Hockey
Denny Carter, NBC Sports
Derek Silva, Kings University College
Derrik Klassen, Bleacher Report
Devin Altieri
Dalton Wine, Stars and Stripes FC
Dr. Johanna Mellis, End of Sports
Drew Hamm, SB Nation
Dvora Meyers
Eric Seeds, The Cannon
Eric Thompson, Hockey Wilderness
Eric Gegenheimer, Second City Hockey
Ethan Hammerman
Evan Liu, Mile High Hockey
Ezra Parter, Mile High Hockey
Frankie de la Cretaz
Gino Cammilleri, Locked on Eagles
Grace Carbone, SB Nation
Hadi Kalakeche, Habs Eyes on the Prize
Hannah Broder
Hardev Lad, Pension Plan Puppets
Harris Rubenstein, NBA 2K League
Ian Valentino, Pro Football Network
Jackie Powell, The Next
Jackson Frank
Jacob Weindling, Mile High Hockey
Jake Adams, The Louisville Courier Journal
Jake Aferiat, NJ.com
Jake Arthur, Locked on Colts
Jakob Forster, Locked on Blue Jackets
James Domizio, Strafe ESports
James Fulwiler, Remember That Guy?
James Seltzer
Jared Book, Habs Eyes on the Prize
Jared Ellis, Locked on Hurricane
Jason Hernandez, Locked on Anaheim Ducks
Jason Marcum, A Sea of Blue
Jeanna Kelley, SB Nation
Jeffrey Chapman, The Copper and the Blue
Jenny Wittenauer, Indiana University
Jeremy Paul, CBJectively Speaking
Jess Belmosto, Locked on Flames
Jessica Luther
Jim Sannes, Numberfire
JJ FromKansas, Winging it in MoTown
John Barchard, SBX Productions
John Shipley, Jaguar Report
Jon Jansen, Fox Sports The Gambler
Jonathan Stark, Learfield
Jose Youngs, MMA Fighting
Justis Mosqueda
Kaelen Jones, The History Channel
Karleigh Webb, SB Nation
Katharine Rice, On the Forecheck
Katie Baker, The Ringer
Kent Lee Platte, RASFootball
Kerra Mazzariello, Die by the Blade
Kevin Knight, SB Nation
Kyle Thele, SB Nation
Laura Norman, CBJectively Speaking Podcast
Laura Saba, Locked on Canadiens
Leo Morgenstern, FanGraphs
Liah Argiropoulos, The Eagle
Lindsay Gibbs, Power Plays
Luke Braun, Locked on Podcast Network
Luke Easterling, Athlon Sports
Maggie Hendricks, Bally Sports
Marc Normandin
Marcas Grant, NFL Media
Mark Schofield, SB Nation
Marek Brave, Black and Brave Wrestling Academy
Mario Puig
Matt Anderson, Vikings Wire
Matt Harmon
Matthew Hodler, URI
Matthew Schwaerzler, Portland Pickles
Melissa Burgess, Die by the Blade
Michael Peterson, SB Nation
Mike Santagata, All Bengals
Montel Hardy, 247 Sports
Nate Tice, The Athletic
Nathan K. Lamb, University of New Brunswick
Nick Morgan, On the Forecheck
Parker Owens, ESPN
Patrick Claybon, NFL Network
Paul Mancano, MASN
Pete Smith, Browns Digest
Pete Volk, Polygon
PHF Players Association
Rachel Donner, Locked on Podcast Network
Robyn Leano, Locked on Coyotes
Ryan Nanni
Sara Sznajder
Sarah Avampato, Canes Country
Scott Carasik, Blogging Dirty
Sean Reuter, SB Nation
Seth Rosenthal, Secret Base
Seth Toupal, Locked on Podcast Network
Shamus Clancy, The Philly Voice
Sie Morely, SB Nation
Sigmund Bloom, Footballguys
Spencer Fascetta, Castleton University
Steph Driver, Broad Street Hockey
Stephanie Vail
Stephen Dohner, Forever Mighty Podcast
Stephen G. Hesson, Batting Around
Steven Ruiz, The Ringer
Theo Ash, Stay Hot
Tyler Browning, A to Z Sports
Tyler Forness, Vikings Wire
Ty Schalter, FiveThirtyEight
Tyler Ireland, Daily Norseman
Vasilis Drimalitis, SB Nation
Victoria Saeli, The Tuck Rule
Zach Goodall, All Gators
Zack Hicks, Horseshoe Huddle