The 7th key sports law topic addressed by Lee Green in his article, discusses Transgender Policies for Athletics Programs. Green reports, “In April 2014, the OCR issued an updated policy guidance clarifying that the civil rights guarantees in Title IX extend to all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The inclusion of transgender students in the new guidance reflects evolving legal standards nationwide, both through laws enacted by state legislatures and via policies implemented by state associations.”
In a March 3rd article, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) staff, wrote an article titled, “Fairness in Sports and Transgender Youth”. The article examined the acceptance and resistance to policies and inclusion of transgender identities in athletic programs and sports. The article opens with an example of a blatant rejection of the new Title IX interpretation. “Texas public school superintendents bucked national trends and possibly violated federal law last month when they voted to require high schools and middle schools to use students’ gender as marked on their birth certificates to determine participation on sports teams.” The article continues with, “With increasing evidence pointing to the benefits and importance of affirming transgender children’s identities, policies like the one in Texas essentially make it impossible for transgender youth to participate on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.”
The HRC staff concludes with, “Arguments against transgender youth and adults participating in sports consistent with their identities tend to center on the false assumption that transgender girls or women will have athletic advantage over cisgender girls or women because of physiological or hormonal differences. But in reality, we know that people of any gender can vary widely in terms of body type, strength and athleticism. In other words, there are cisgender high school girls who are tall, muscular and have high levels of testosterone.”
Basically, Title IX states that institutions receiving federal funding cannot discriminate against transgender students in athletic programs. It argues that it is unacceptable to require that students participate with their ‘biological’ gender rather than their ‘chosen’ gender. The article states that it is very difficult for students to surgically or even legally change their gender, so their chosen gender should be respected and accepted.
http://www.hrc.org/blog/fairness-in-sports-and-transgender-youth
http://www.nfhs.org/articles/top-ten-sports-law-issues-impacting-school-athletics-programs/
Torts Illustrated 