The United States House of Representatives passed a bill on Jan. 14, banning transgender women from competing in girls’ sports. A few weeks later, President Trump passed an executive order banning transgender athletes from playing in women’s sports.  The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act would change the federal law banning sex discrimination in schools, which recognizes a person’s “sex” as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

If schools allow someone who is transgender to compete in a women’s league, they are at risk of losing federal funding. Some want to keep transgender females out of women’s sports, and others believe that this bill is threatening transgender people’s rights. Because of this, many are worried about the health and well-being of transgender athletes.

The pool of transgender athletes is small, as only a small percentage of high school athletes are transgender. However, many are still angered by the fact their competitors may have a biological advantage. Junior Rebecca Duran competitively swims during high school season and for the Tidalwaves competitive swim club. When asked about transgender athletes, she gave an insight into her research on the topic.

“Even though [transgender women athletes] are taking suppressants, they still have slight advantages over [biological] women,” Duran said.
According to research done at Mayo Clinic, hormone suppressants will not reverse changes that have already happened. If you start taking them late in puberty, the earlier changes a transgender person will go through will not disappear.

Although Duran has yet to compete against a transgender athlete, junior Keira Sisuphan, a high-level volleyball player has experienced playing a competitive game versus a transgender female athlete.

“I have played against a transgender person, only once. It was a pretty close game, but it was pretty unfair in my opinion. She jumped really high, since she was really tall, which created an unfair level of competition,” Sisuphan said.
During the club volleyball season, there were no restrictions against transgender athletes, but Sisuphan cited this experience as early in her season. When introduced to the Protect Girls Sports Act, Sisuphan was cohesive in understanding both sides of the act.

“It could go both ways. [I understand that] these transgender women want to be included in the sport, but it is definitely a little bit of an unfair advantage,” Sisuphan said.

As the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act goes to the Senate, the debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports remains highly controversial. Some argue that the bill ensures fairness in competition, while others believe it unfairly targets transgender individuals and limits their opportunities. Regardless of the outcome, the conversation portrays the ongoing struggle to balance inclusivity and competitive integrity in sports, a topic that will likely remain at the head of athletic and political discourse.