Texas Policy Forces Transgender Teen To Wrestle Outside Of His Gender

A transgender boy won the Texas Wrestling State Tournament over the weekend, setting off a national debate over whether the high school student should have been allowed to compete against girls in his quest to the victory stand. “They’re doing wrong by Mack, and not just these 15 girls but all the other girls she wrestled all year”.

But Beggs is required by rules to compete as a girl against girls, according to the Star-Telegram.

Mack Beggs, pictured during the final round Saturday, said he wants to compete as a boy. Beggs was booed by other parents and students, and Beggs and his family were kept off the main floor outside of the moments he was actually competing for his safety.

Beggs reached the tournament after two opponents forfeited rather than wrestle him in the regional tournament. Beggs defeated Clay in the semifinals of last week’s regional tournament in Allen.

It was a match Latham’s mother didn’t want to happen.

Beggs didn’t acknowledge the presence, instead nervously biting his fingernails while he waited.

This means that states and school districts have been left to determine their own policies about whether or not transgender students should use facilities based on their identity. He didn’t acknowledge their presence, going to the weigh-in like any other wrestler, the News reported.

Angela and Damon McNew declined to comment. Parents and coaches of opposing wrestlers neglected to speak to reporters and retreated to restricted areas after their matches.

Hudson Taylor, founder and executive director of Athlete Ally, an LGBTQ advocacy group, said Obama’s trans protections encouraged athletic programs to think about how to make sports more inclusive and welcoming to people of all genders – and Trump undid all of that.

In a statement Friday, the UIL said it’s possible the rule requiring athletes to compete according to the gender on their birth certificate could change in the future.

The earliest a rule change could come is at the next UIL legislative council in June.

Beggs would not be allowed to compete in a college-level or Olympic or professional match while on steroids, Brown noted.

Mack Beggs won the Texas Class 6A 110-pound girls state championship on Saturday.

Beggs has been transitioning from female to male by using testosterone therapy since 2015, but he is only allowed to wrestle girls.

According to transathlete.com, which provides information for transgender athletes, Texas is one of seven USA states with policies it sees as discriminatory against transgender athletes.

The league granted Beggs permission to take testosterone because he is using the hormone for a “valid medical goal”, the newspaper reported.