https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-...gh-school-athletes-draws-criticism-1488024010
DALLAS—For the past few months, Mack Beggs, a star wrestler at Trinity High School near Fort Worth, has beaten all 54 opponents he’s faced—each of them girls.
Mack, who was born a female and is transitioning to a male through hormone therapy, is at the center of a controversy here over a Texas rule that requires high-school students to compete as the gender listed on their birth certificate.
The dispute comes as the 17-year-old vies for a girls state championship this weekend in the Houston area, and just days after the Trump administration rescinded Obama administration guidelines that said schools should let transgender students use the bathrooms and facilities of their choice.
Texas has become a flashpoint for such issues. State lawmakers are considering a bill that would require transgender people to use bathrooms in public institutions, including public school districts, based on their biological sex. The proposal has spurred a firestorm of debate on both sides.
Mack’s mother, Angela Beggs, said, “Mack would like to compete against boys. He’s practiced very hard to get to this point.”
Despite Mack’s wishes though, the Texas rule, which went into effect in August, dictates he must compete as a girl.
It was passed by the University Interscholastic League, Texas’ governing authority for public-school sports. According to the group, 95% of league-member school superintendents voted in favor of the birth-certificate rule.
The family reached out to the league asking that Mack be allowed to wrestle with boys and were told the rule prevented him from doing so, Mack’s parents said. As a result, Mack hasn’t wrestled against boys in any official matches.
“It is not a clean, easy thing to deal with by any means,” said Cody Moree, a superintendent in Apple Springs Independent School District in East Texas. Mr. Moree voted for the rule but said he understood both sides of the issue.
“I would understand if this student was wrestling in the boys division and there were objections there as well,” he said.
Mack’s parents said their son has been taking hormone therapy since October 2015 to help him transition and stressed that he would much prefer to wrestle against other boys.
The fact that he is mandated to compete against girls has caused frustration among some parents and other female wrestlers.
League spokeswoman Kate Hector said two girls forfeited in Mack’s 110-pound weight class last week during a regional tournament rather than wrestle against him. She said no one had forfeited by Friday afternoon for the state championship.
Pratik Khandelwal, whose daughter has wrestled Mack, said he is concerned about future wrestling matches between the two. “It’s not a matter of being transgender, it’s more of a fact that he’s taking testosterone…that could have an influence on the girls that he’s wrestling,” he said.
Jim Baudhuin, a father and attorney, unsuccessfully sought an injunction before the district and regional meets to prevent Mack from wrestling, according to the Associated Press. Mr. Baudhuin blames the league and its year-ago vote that passed the birth-certificates rule. He said he plans to pursue a lawsuit after the season is over because he envisions the same scenario next season, the AP said.
The league wouldn’t comment on the suit. The Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, where Trinity High School is located, said in a statement that the district would continue to follow league guidelines.
Chris Mosier, an advocate for transgender athletes who has competed on the U.S. Men’s Duathlon and Triathlon teams as a transgender man, said 40 states have some sort of policy on transgender high-school athletes. Some 16 allow high-school students to compete as the gender with which they identify, and 17 examine cases on an individual basis.
The remaining states, including Texas, require students to compete as the gender listed on their birth certificate or, in some instances, undergo hormone therapy or surgery.
“This is the first time I’ve heard of something like this happening. Mack is following the rules exactly as the rules are stated,” Mr. Mosier said. “Mack is a boy and should be competing against boys.”
In Texas’ case, the league noted in a statement that individuals can petition the court to amend their birth certificate, and the league would accept the change.
Mack’s stepfather Damon McNew said Mack was hurt by the fact that some girls didn’t want to wrestle against him. But he said his school, and the wrestling team, had been supportive of his situation.
“He doesn’t want any competitive advantage,” he said. “All he wants to do is wrestle.”
On Friday, Mack won his first two matches at the state championships.
DALLAS—For the past few months, Mack Beggs, a star wrestler at Trinity High School near Fort Worth, has beaten all 54 opponents he’s faced—each of them girls.
Mack, who was born a female and is transitioning to a male through hormone therapy, is at the center of a controversy here over a Texas rule that requires high-school students to compete as the gender listed on their birth certificate.
The dispute comes as the 17-year-old vies for a girls state championship this weekend in the Houston area, and just days after the Trump administration rescinded Obama administration guidelines that said schools should let transgender students use the bathrooms and facilities of their choice.
Texas has become a flashpoint for such issues. State lawmakers are considering a bill that would require transgender people to use bathrooms in public institutions, including public school districts, based on their biological sex. The proposal has spurred a firestorm of debate on both sides.
Mack’s mother, Angela Beggs, said, “Mack would like to compete against boys. He’s practiced very hard to get to this point.”
Despite Mack’s wishes though, the Texas rule, which went into effect in August, dictates he must compete as a girl.
It was passed by the University Interscholastic League, Texas’ governing authority for public-school sports. According to the group, 95% of league-member school superintendents voted in favor of the birth-certificate rule.
The family reached out to the league asking that Mack be allowed to wrestle with boys and were told the rule prevented him from doing so, Mack’s parents said. As a result, Mack hasn’t wrestled against boys in any official matches.
“It is not a clean, easy thing to deal with by any means,” said Cody Moree, a superintendent in Apple Springs Independent School District in East Texas. Mr. Moree voted for the rule but said he understood both sides of the issue.
“I would understand if this student was wrestling in the boys division and there were objections there as well,” he said.
Mack’s parents said their son has been taking hormone therapy since October 2015 to help him transition and stressed that he would much prefer to wrestle against other boys.
The fact that he is mandated to compete against girls has caused frustration among some parents and other female wrestlers.
League spokeswoman Kate Hector said two girls forfeited in Mack’s 110-pound weight class last week during a regional tournament rather than wrestle against him. She said no one had forfeited by Friday afternoon for the state championship.
Pratik Khandelwal, whose daughter has wrestled Mack, said he is concerned about future wrestling matches between the two. “It’s not a matter of being transgender, it’s more of a fact that he’s taking testosterone…that could have an influence on the girls that he’s wrestling,” he said.
Jim Baudhuin, a father and attorney, unsuccessfully sought an injunction before the district and regional meets to prevent Mack from wrestling, according to the Associated Press. Mr. Baudhuin blames the league and its year-ago vote that passed the birth-certificates rule. He said he plans to pursue a lawsuit after the season is over because he envisions the same scenario next season, the AP said.
The league wouldn’t comment on the suit. The Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, where Trinity High School is located, said in a statement that the district would continue to follow league guidelines.
Chris Mosier, an advocate for transgender athletes who has competed on the U.S. Men’s Duathlon and Triathlon teams as a transgender man, said 40 states have some sort of policy on transgender high-school athletes. Some 16 allow high-school students to compete as the gender with which they identify, and 17 examine cases on an individual basis.
The remaining states, including Texas, require students to compete as the gender listed on their birth certificate or, in some instances, undergo hormone therapy or surgery.
“This is the first time I’ve heard of something like this happening. Mack is following the rules exactly as the rules are stated,” Mr. Mosier said. “Mack is a boy and should be competing against boys.”
In Texas’ case, the league noted in a statement that individuals can petition the court to amend their birth certificate, and the league would accept the change.
Mack’s stepfather Damon McNew said Mack was hurt by the fact that some girls didn’t want to wrestle against him. But he said his school, and the wrestling team, had been supportive of his situation.
“He doesn’t want any competitive advantage,” he said. “All he wants to do is wrestle.”
On Friday, Mack won his first two matches at the state championships.
