Transgender boy forced to wrestle in girls’ tournament thanks to dumb Texas rules
A Texas transgender boy is being forced to wrestle in a girls’ wrestling tournament – because he is banned from competing against men under poorly-thought-out rules.
Aspiring wrestler Mack Beggs, 17, is on the wrestling team at Euless Trinity High School in Texas.
However, the teen is unable to compete in the men’s tournament due to ridiculous rules implemented by the state’s school sports regulator.
The teen has pleaded with the Texas University Interscholastic League to permit him to compete as a boy, but it rejected him because of a recently implemented policy that requires student athletes to compete “as the gender listed on their birth certificate”.
This means that despite having lived as male for several years and undergoing gender treatment, he is forced by the state to wrestle in the girls’ league – a situation that no one thinks is a good solution.
Ironically, the policy was initially pushed by state anti-LGBT Republicans who scaremongered about transgender women having an “unfair advantage” in female sports – though the policy is now forcing girls to compete against a boy.
Beggs’ case came into the spotlight this week as he begins competing in the state-level women’s tournament, having won a regional championship in the face of bigoted comments.
Some parents have even taken action to eject him from the tournament – a situation that may leave him unable to compete at all.
One parent, local attorney Jim Baudhuin, even filed a lawsuit seeking to ban Beggs from the sport altogether – though the lawyer later told AP he has changed his stance and now supports the teen’s right to compete as a man under national sporting guidelines.
Baudhuin said: “Mack is a great kid, hard-working, great kid, so this is not a personal. This is not a hatred issue. We just don’t think it’s fair that Mack should wrestle, either be allowed or should be required to wrestle against girls.”
The teen, who has a 52-match undefeated streak in the girls’ league, said nearly all the bigotry he experiences comes from adults, and not his fellow athletes.
He said: “The thing is, we want to wrestle each other. I feel so sick and disgusted by the discrimination, not by the kids, the PARENTS AND COACHES.
“These kids don’t care who you put in front of them to wrestle. We just want to WRESTLE.
“THEY are taking that away from me and from the people I’m competing with.”
Transgender teenager Mack Beggs has won the Texas wrestling title after being forced to compete in the female category.
The 17-year-old won the Texas girl’s state championship in the 110-pound weight class after he beat Chelsea Sanchez 12-2.
The teen had a 52-match undefeated streak in the girls’ league.
Mack said of the win:“I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for my teammates. That’s honestly what the spotlight should’ve been on, my teammates.
“The hard work that I put in in the practice room with them, beside me — we trained hard every, single day. Every, single day, and that’s where the spotlight should have been on. Not me. All of these guys. Because I would not be here without them.”
There is a petition underway to call on President Donald Trump to stop discrimination against transgender kids.
