Massachusetts rep blasts Republicans for 'weaponizing' transgender athletes: 'Politics at its worst'

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U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., ripped her Republican colleagues this week, saying they politicize the controversial issue of transgender athletes competing against girls and women.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is one of at least three state athletic organizations to say they will continue to allow trans athletes to compete against biological females despite President Donald Trump's recent executive order barring them from doing so. 

This has led to Trump's Department of Education launching Title IX probes against the Massachusetts, Minnesota and California athletic federations.

"We're going to say no to those trans kids? You can't be part of a team, you can't learn the camaraderie and be part of your community and feel a sense of belonging? It's just cruel," Trahan said, via the Boston Globe.

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Trahan, who said she has not heard much of an outcry from parents in her state, added that she believes the issue should be up to each individual sports body, not politicians.

"They're experts. They're dedicated to their sports and creating fair and responsible rules for participation. Many of them have already implemented changes to ensure fairness and safety," she said.

"I think that's where the decisions should be made, but it doesn't stop my Republican colleagues from weaponizing this issue, and it has a lot of consequence as a result."

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The NCAA, despite President Charlie Baker saying in December he knew of fewer than 10 transgender athletes in the association, recently followed Trump's order and barred transgender athletes from competing against females.

"You can't ignore the [NCAA's] data," Trahan said, "but it doesn't stop them. They think it's a political winner for them. Whether they believe it or not, it doesn't even matter. They have set such a dangerous narrative in our country around denying the existence of trans people.

"There are a lot of creeps out there, so now someone gets to accuse a girl who doesn't look feminine enough or doesn't have pigtails in her hair?" Trahan added. "How does she have to prove [her gender]? It's poor policymaking. It's politics at its worst."

The debate reached a new level nearly three years ago when Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer at Penn, won a Division I title. Trump issued his executive order as part of his announced plan to "ban" trans athletes from competing against girls and women while campaigning.

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