Access to Sport is a Human Right

Dear Pride Family,

The last couple of weeks have been exhilarating watching the world’s most prolific athletes compete for glory and recognition at the highest level. And, it’s not lost on me that the Olympics began (in part) with the hope of fostering peace and collaboration among nations.

Citius, Altius, and Fortiusm, or, faster, higher, stronger continues to be a call for nations of the world to vye for precious metals. It’s fitting then, that the Paris Olympic games made history, with the highest participation rate ever recorded from LGBTQIA+ and female athletes.

These Olympic games have brought queer and trans visibility to the forefront, and with that, fake transphobic outrage targeting cisgender women of color such as Algerian boxer Imane Khelif. For all of the progress we have made, she is still fighting overt disinformation campaigns claiming she is transgender. (See this fact check from GLAAD, InterACT, and Athlete Ally. )

Khelif, who comes from the small village of ‘Aïn Mesbah in Northwest Algeria, is just one of countless women of color whose gender identity has been needlessly and unjustly scrutinized in the name of equity. These allegations are indicative of a broader trend in the fight for gender equality. Just as the tears of white women continue to be weaponized against Black, Indigenous, people of color. The transphobia and misogyny behind these allegations impacts all people, including cisgender women. 

Here in California, AB 1266 (2013) attempts to safeguard all young athletes from these kinds of transphobic and misogynistic attacks; state law here requires public schools to allow students – whether cisgender, transgender, and/or intersex – to access sports teams in accordance with their gender identity. Despite this, school boards and school officials have often challenged the participation of certain girls in girls’ sports, echoing the rhetoric and transphobia across the country. We have to be vigilant in monitoring our local school boards for these violations of inclusion and state law. 

Collegiate, professional/semi-pro, and recreational athletics policies are determined by other governing bodies, which can be subject to that same transphobic rhetoric and sometimes problematic sex verification  and are able to be changed through advocacy.

As interACT Executive Director Erika Lorshbough stated: “All women should be able to participate in their sports free from discrimination and exclusion that is antithetical to the spirit of sport itself.”  

Shiwali Patel, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, categorized the current climate best, “It’s important to recognize that these discriminatory policies don’t enhance fairness in competition. Instead, they send a message of exclusion and reinforce dangerous stereotypes that harm all women.”

Indeed we see signs of hope as many local recreational sports leagues have explicitly inclusive policies. Like so many moment of meaningful progress, many of these policies are the result of folks advocating for equitable and inclusive policies around participation. While the fight for equity and inclusion is far from settled, I remain hopeful that the community voices and advocacy efforts will have the final say on comprehensive inclusion for LGBTQIA+ athletes at all levels. 

While speaking about inclusion in sport, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge that the sports world lost an incredible champion for inclusion, equity and representation this week. We join friends and family in mourning the loss of Billy Bean, Major League Baseball, Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

In Pride, 

Esme Quintero-Cubillan                                                               
they/she                                                                                     
Organizing & Outreach Coordinator                                           

Joslyn Hatfield
she/her/hers
Director of Marketing Communications