Okay so this whole thing started when my buddy Mike texted me about volunteering at his local girls’ high school track meet. Said they were short-handed. I figured, sure, why not? Get some fresh air.
Part One: Just Showing Up Turned into Something Else
Showed up last Tuesday afternoon. Place was buzzing – mostly girls warming up, a few parents setting up lawn chairs. Found Mike looking stressed. He shoved a clipboard at me. “Scorekeeper didn’t show. You good with numbers?” Guess I was now.
Sat down at this rickety table, pencil blunt as my elbow. First few races, easy enough. Record the times, note who came where. But then… things got weird. This one athlete finished the 100m dash way ahead, like blisteringly fast. Recorded the time, double-checked. Smashed the school record by like two seconds. The girls near me just went silent. Stared. One mom muttered real loud, “That ain’t right.”
Part Two: Seeing the Problem Head-On
I brushed it off at first. Maybe just a super talented kid. But then it happened again in the hurdles. Same athlete. Long jump after that. The competition… well, it wasn’t really competition anymore. The other girls looked defeated before they even started. Their faces – frustration, confusion, even a little anger. One girl I saw, tears welling up after her jump landed way short.
Later, hanging out with Mike cleaning up trash, he confirmed it quietly. Yeah, that athlete was competing as a girl now, but hadn’t always. “Started last season,” he mumbled, looking tired. “Nobody says anything. Too scared.” Seeing those girls deflate firsthand? That hit different. It wasn’t just about times on a board.
Later that week, coffee with my wife Sarah. Told her the whole thing. She listened, nodding. “It’s about fairness, isn’t it?” she said finally. “Those girls train hard for their shot. That chance gets taken away?” Exactly. It wasn’t hate. It felt like watching someone steal a finish line right out from under them.
Part Three: Digging In and Feeling the Heat
Couldn’t shake it off. Started reading. Not news articles screaming one way or the other. Went looking for the actual state policies. Found them buried on the high school athletic association website. Turns out, our state uses “self-identification.” Athletes declare what gender team they compete on. That’s it. Zero medical criteria required.
Looked at other states. Total patchwork quilt:
- Some required hormone therapy for a year or even two.
- Others demanded surgery – like, life-altering stuff.
- A bunch were tied up in lawsuits, everything frozen.
- One state even had it decided by birth certificates, period.
No wonder it felt chaotic. There’s no “rule,” just a dozen different rulebooks.
Tried talking to some folks online. Mistake. Big mistake. Posted a simple question about the meet I saw on a local community board. Boom. Got called everything under the sun: bigot, hateful, dinosaur, you name it. People screaming about “inclusion” but ignoring the other side. Others screaming back just as nasty. Lost track trying to explain I just saw girls lose their chance at a podium spot. Not politics, just reality on that track. Deleted the post after a few hours. Felt like I’d stepped into a warzone blindfolded.
The Messy Middle Ground
It got me thinking – hard. On one hand? Yeah, totally get it. Everyone deserves to compete, to be on a team, feel that belonging. Sports are huge for that. Big believer in that spirit.
But. The other hand is just as heavy. Biology isn’t just feelings. Seeing that athlete dominate physically? It wasn’t a slight edge. It was a canyon. Training matters, heart matters, technique matters… but basic biology sets limits that training can’t always overcome. Having a category for “women” seems pretty pointless if anyone can declare themselves into it, regardless of their biology. What are those girls competing for then? A participation certificate?
The current “self-ID only” policy just feels like pretending the biology gap doesn’t exist. And frankly? That disrespects the incredible hard work every girl puts in. It makes a mockery of their dedication and the physical realities of their bodies.
Maybe there’s another way? A separate category? Different qualifiers? Hell, I don’t know the perfect answer. But pretending one doesn’t exist? That’s actively hurting girls right now. Saving women’s sports isn’t about exclusion – it’s about protecting what makes women’s sports fair, competitive, and meaningful in the first place. Saw it with my own eyes. Doesn’t sit right.