Transgender Question Still Up In Air

Less than a year ago I wrote about the controversy of transgendered people in sports. I got crucified over it, but what opinion doesn’t get you that with today’s cancel culture? To sum up, I pointed out the inherent unfairness of allowing male to compete against female.

If you have followed the issue, then you already know the Indiana legislature recently passed a bill that basically bans transgender athletes from competition in high schools. And you also know that Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed it.

Good for the governor.

Wait, what?

Like so many things in life, there’s more to this than meets the eye. Of course, in today’s world of instant everything, details aren’t really important. Everyone wants the 50,000-foot view and the issue summed up in a soundbite. So, yes, it would seem that the legislature’s proposal to keep boys from competing against girls is a good thing, and that the governor is playing to the woke crowd with his veto.

But that’s not the case.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association already has rules in place, and those rules have prevented any sort of big movement of Hoosier high school boys competing as Hoosier high school girls. As one of my favorite lawmakers says, this is just the state micromanaging. Holcomb, presumably, knows there isn’t a big problem and nixed the attempt of the good lawmakers to tell the IHSAA how to do their jobs.

Seems fair to me.

Look, my position hasn’t changed one iota. It seems appropriate that in March, a month dedicated to recognizing the achievements of women, we take on what can be a blatantly unfair advantage males have over females in some sports. And to be clear, don’t hand me that sorry line that this is discrimination.

In the immortal words of Col. Henry Potter, sufferin’ sheep dip!

Sports, at its core, is purported to be about fairness and sportsmanship. One side may be better than another, but the playing field is supposed to be level. How fair was it that a male weightlifter competed as a female for the New Zealand Olympic team? How fair was it that a male swimmer decimated his female competitors in collegiate swimming?

This isn’t about discrimination, it’s about fairness.

And if, at some point in the future, transgender athletes actually become an issue in Indiana, then all the IHSAA has to do is create a separate category for transgenders. Don’t tell me it can’t be done. Many of us remember when the IHSAA didn’t have competition for girls. Heck, you can even bring up a topic I hate, class sports. If fairness wasn’t a major point of emphasis, we’d still have every basketball team in the state playing in one tournament.

We live in a strange world today, my friends. Facts aren’t facts anymore. One side makes some outlandish claim and the world is too politically correct to react accordingly. I said it before and I’ll say it again. Everyone – every color, creed, size, gender, persuasion – should have the opportunity to take part in sports if they choose. No one should be left out. They just ought to start on equal footing.

Two cents, which is about how much Timmons said his columns are worth, appears periodically on Wednesdays in The Paper. Timmons is the publisher of The Paper and can be contacted at [email protected].