Recently, a high school girl’s soccer team in New Hampshire refused to compete against another team with a transgender athlete on its roster. Earlier this week, at least five athletes on the Hillsboro-Deering High School Girl’s Varsity Soccer team refused to play in a game against Kearsarge Regional High School, whose star player is transgender.
Citing basic biological principles, parents expressed concerns about the safety of their daughter competing against a transgender athlete, where disparities often exist between them and female athletes. The move represents the latest protest from female sports teams who refuse to compete against transgender players on opposing teams.
“This isn’t about transgenderism,” Heather Thyng, the mother of a Hillsboro-Deering player who refused to play, recently explained. “This is about biology for us and the increased physical risk when playing a full contact sport against the opposing sex.” She added, “We believe, my daughter included, that refusing to compete is the best way to push back on this issue, and we are hoping parents will be more willing to put themselves out there knowing they don’t have to be the first or the only family within our community to do so.”
“The coaches reassured me they told the girls there would be no negative repercussions for anyone who refuses to compete,” Thyng continued. “They said they understood the increased risk and would be paying attention to the aggressiveness of the game, and if anyone was getting hurt or play was too rough, they were prepared to end the game.”
“No one ever got near [Maelle,] so I guess they’ll never be in any danger if there’s enough girls to always have a weak team,” according to Betsy Harrington, another concerned parent. “If every game has a few girls refusing to play, we will never know the ability of the Kearsarge team. They have an advantage I hadn’t thought about. It’s that they get to always play a crippled team without all of their players.”
In a similar move, the women’s volleyball team at the University of Wyoming became the third school to refuse to play against San Jose State University, which has a transgender player on the roster. The school explained in a statement, “After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San José State University in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 5.”
“Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming,” the statement continued. “The Cowgirls will host Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the UniWyo Sports Complex.”
The American Tribune recently reported on Boise State’s women’s volleyball team, who released a similar statement, electing to forfeit their match against San Jose State. “Boise State volleyball will not play its scheduled match at San José State on Saturday, Sept. 28. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Boise State.” The school stated that it would resume its season in an upcoming match against the Air Force on October 3.
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