Transgender athlete data offers mixed results
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A doctor with extensive experience with LGBTQ youth on Friday said data on youth athletes don’t match that of adults.
A bill to ban transgender girls from taking part in girls’ sports in Indiana K-12 schools is awaiting further action after a state Senate panel took some three hours of testimony Wednesday afternoon. The bill passed the House at the end of January.
Research comparing the performance of transgender athletes with that of cisgender athletes, athletes whose gender identity matches that of their birth certificate, is limited.
Dr. Kris Hunt, the USA Powerlifting national medical director, said at a January hearing that his organization found transgender women are roughly five times stronger than cisgender women taking anabolic steroids. Hunt said although powerlifting is not a high school sport, many athletes incorporate elements of it into their offseason conditioning.
Dr. Eric Meininger, co-director of the Riley Gender Health Program at the IU School of Medicine, works with about 800 youths who do not identify as cisgender. He said most data concerning transgender athletes, such as Hunt’s, are taken from elite adult athletes. High school and middle school athletes have not yet reaped the full benefits of puberty. He said a 2017 review of the data from high school athletes found transgender athletes were no more likely to excel at athletics than their cisgender peers, nor were they more likely to cause unintended injury to another athlete.
“We need to remember that high school sports is a chance for children to play. It’s a chance for children to learn good social skills and teamwork,” Meininger said. “It should not be somewhere where we are finding the elite athletes to push forward into the future.”
Paul Neidig, commissioner of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, said his organization is continually reviewing research and guidance surrounding transgender athletes. Any transgender student in Indiana who wishes to take part in a sport that matches their identity must apply for a waiver through the IHSAA. Current policy requires any transgender athlete to submit multiple statements confirming they have been living their gender identity for at least one year. Additionally, transgender girls must prove they have undergone either hormone therapy for at least a year or surgery.
Neidig said the IHSAA has received two waiver applications since the current policy was adopted in 2017. One was from a transgender boy; that application was approved. The other was from a transgender girl; the girl’s application was incomplete and she withdrew from the process right before the IHSAA tried to request more information, Neidig said.
“Like anything else in this business, you look at the competition aspect of participation, and we certainly want to do our due diligence,” the IHSAA commissioner said. “We look at all aspects of the transfer, but we just want to be fair to everybody involved.”
State Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Republican from Richmond who is chair of the Senate Education Committee, has not publicly committed to when or if he will bring up the bill for a vote.