Just when you think things can't go
any lower, you realize they are.
In case you missed it, the state of
California recently passed a law that allows student-athletes who identify
themselves as transgender to choose which sex-segregated athletic teams they
desire.
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed
the bill into law last week.
Really. I am not making this up. I
wish I were.
Athletics are not the only thing
covered under the law as it allows transgender students to choose which school
locker rooms and bathrooms to use.
Words cannot describe the insanity
of such a law, which I first read about on the Schooled in Sports blog on the
Education Week website.
The new California provision reads,
“(f) A pupil shall be permitted to
participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including
athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her
gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
Really, that law passed in
California. It is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2014.
Un. Be. Lieve. Able.
I have been getting paid to write
about sports since 1985 and make no apologies that I am heavy on the games at
the high school level. I thought I had seen it all until I read about this
lunacy.
Thank goodness I live in Kentucky,
where we are so “backward” I seriously doubt something this “progressive” would
even get off the ground.
Let me say that over the years, I
have seen female athletes who I believe could compete with males. That is
especially true in non-contact sports, but I have seen girls' basketball
players who I think could hold their own with the guys. Several years ago, a
girl wrestler medaled at the Kentucky state wrestling tournament.
But let's face it. That is the
exception rather than the norm. Usually, when the games are the same, the male
version of sports are faster paced, more physical and played by bigger people
than the female version. If you don't believe me, check out the world records
in track and field, then let me know the result.
(Hint: Males usually run faster and
jump higher.)
That being said, I could actually
come around to girls playing boys' sports, even at the high school level. If a
girl can slam dunk or run for a touchdown, so be it. Nothing should deny her
the opportunity. The girl wrestler who medaled at the state tournament several
years ago underscored this belief.
But playing on the field is much
different than allowing someone to choose the locker rooms and bathrooms he
will use.
During my writing career, I have
been in many locker rooms. Guys are changing clothes, coming out of showers and
the like. Over the last few years, I just began to usually wait outside the
locker room to talk with a player. It just seems more professional and
respectful.
And I am old-fashioned enough to
believe the privacy of the locker room should not be violated.
Another Education Week blog, Rules
for Engagement, pointed out that Massachusetts has a similar law and that
school administrators are to talk with kids who are not comfortable with a
transgender person sharing a locker room or rest room.
In other words, if common decency
bothers you, you are the one with the problem.
Thankfully, this law is not even
close to Kentucky. I doubt it would ever be passed in our state. At least not
in my lifetime, it wouldn't. My only fear would be the federal government
getting involved and mandating insanity for all 50 states.
From this corner, high school
sports are wonderful educational tools. So many life lessons can be learned
through sports, but insane political agendas need to be left on the sideline.
Better yet, keep them out
of the arena all the time.
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