UNITED STATES NEWS

North Carolina House approves ban on transgender athletes

Apr 19, 2023, 3:09 PM

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Transgender girls in North Carolina would be prohibited from joining female sports teams in middle school, high school and college under legislation passed Wednesday by the Republican-controlled House in one of its first actions since attaining a supermajority earlier this month.

The House approved legislation 73-39, with three Democrats voting in favor, to separate sports by biological sex, based solely on students’ “reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” Trans girls would not be allowed to play on any sports team that corresponds with their gender identity. Trans boys and cisgender girls could only play on teams designated for male athletes if there was no comparable girls’ team, except for wrestling.

House Republicans fast-tracked the bill through two committees earlier Wednesday after hearing debate from trans and cisgender student athletes. It now heads to the Senate, where a competing proposal could reach the floor as soon as Thursday. The Senate bill would only create restrictions for middle and high school athletes.

At least 20 other states have imposed similar limits on trans athletes at the K-12 or collegiate level. The North Carolina bills are among several introduced this month that would impact trans residents, including restrictions on gender-affirming medical procedures for trans youth and criminal penalties for public performances by some “male or female impersonators.”

Proponents of the House sports bill argue it would preserve opportunities for cisgender girls and protect their safety. But trans kids and their supporters say it’s discrimination disguised as a safety precaution.

“This bill is a bill to be inclusive, not to be exclusive,” said Rep. Kristin Baker, a Cabarrus County Republican and primary sponsor. “This bill is to allow fair and particularly safe, physically safe, competition.”

While sponsors contend the proposal would not permit genital inspections to verify a student’s sex, they did not have an explanation Wednesday for how the policy would be enforced.

The bill also would give students a right to sue if they’re harmed by a trans student violating the restrictions.

Baker and other supporters have repeatedly pointed to a volleyball injury in Cherokee County as justification for their claim that trans participation poses an inherent danger to cisgender girls in the state.

Payton McNabb, a senior at Hiwassee Dam High School in Murphy, suffered a concussion and neck injury after a transgender athlete hit her in the head with a volleyball during a school match last September. McNabb said she still suffers from impaired vision, learning challenges, chronic headaches and partial paralysis on her right side.

“I may be the first to come before you with an injury, but if this doesn’t pass, I won’t be the last,” she said in a committee meeting earlier Wednesday.

The debate drew attention from national advocates like Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer known for criticizing an NCAA decision allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete against her in Division I women’s races.

Rep. Vernetta Alston, a Durham County Democrat, criticized the GOP for amplifying a few isolated incidents she said blow the problem out of proportion. Injuries happen all the time in sports, Alston said, regardless of who’s participating. Baker argued an injury like McNabb’s is one too many.

No more than 15 trans athletes have been approved to play high school sports this year in North Carolina, and only two are trans girls.

“It is a pretext for bigotry and part of a larger effort to ban transgender people from living their lives,” Alston said during floor debate, warning that the bill would further exclude a small and already vulnerable population.

Sean Radek, a transgender 17-year-old from Charlotte, said he gave up his greatest passion — swimming — due to the discrimination and discomfort he faced after coming out as a preteen. The isolation he felt after leaving the sport still affects him today, he said.

“Since then, I struggled with depression, self harm and suicidal ideation due to a loss of community, especially when it came to sports,” Radek said. “It’s hard to imagine a 12-year-old giving up his dreams because he found himself … for me, this was reality.”

Mecklenburg County Rep. Tricia Cotham, who gave the GOP a veto-proof supermajority this month when she changed her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, voted in favor of the bill after she ran last fall on a platform supporting LGBTQ+ rights. Cotham declined to speak to reporters about the bill Wednesday.

___

Hannah Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

United States News

FILE - A general view shows the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. ...

Associated Press

First congressional hearing on Maui wildfire to focus on island’s sole electric provider and grid

Hawaii’s top public utility officials and the president of Hawaiian Electric are expected to testify Thursday in a congressional hearing about the role the electrical grid played in last month’s deadly Maui wildfire. Members of a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee are expected to question the utility officials about how the deadliest U.S. wildfire […]

3 hours ago

FILE - The fire-damaged Wellspring Health Access clinic is cordoned by tape, May 25, 2022, in Caspe...

Associated Press

The woman who torched Wyoming’s lone, full-service abortion clinic is about to be sentenced

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A woman who says anxiety and nightmares led her to set fire to Wyoming’s only full-service abortion clinic, setting back the facility’s opening almost a year, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday. Lorna Roxanne Green could be sentenced to 20 years in prison for burning the Wellspring Health Access facility in […]

3 hours ago

FILE - New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during the New York State Democratic Co...

Associated Press

NY Attorney General Letitia James has a long history of fighting Trump, other powerful targets

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Letitia James fixated on Donald Trump as she campaigned for New York attorney general, branding the then-president a “con man” and ″carnival barker” and pledging to shine a “bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings.” Five years later, James is on the verge of disrupting Trump’s real […]

4 hours ago

FILE - President Joe Biden leans in to hear a question as he speaks with reporters before walking t...

Associated Press

House Republicans are set to make their case for Biden impeachment inquiry at first hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have insisted for months that they have the grounds to launch impeachment proceedings against President Joe Biden. On Thursday, they will begin formally making their case to the public and their skeptical colleagues in the Senate. The chairmen of Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means will hold the opening hearing of […]

4 hours ago

President Joe Biden landed at Sky Harbor International Airport where he will honor late Senator Joh...

Brandon Gray

President Joe Biden arrives in Arizona, will honor John McCain in Tempe, road closures expected

President Joe Biden arrived Wednesday night in the Valley where he will honor the late Senator John McCain Thursday in Tempe. 

5 hours ago

Associated Press

Gang violence in Haiti is escalating and spreading with a significant increase in killings, UN says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Gang violence in Haiti is escalating and spreading from the capital Port-au-Prince through the center of the country to its two other major cities, Gonaives and Cap-Hatien, with a significant increase in killings, kidnappings and rapes in the past few months, the U.N. chief said in a report circulated Wednesday. Secretary-General […]

5 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Home moving relocation in Arizona 2023...

BMS Moving

Tips for making your move in Arizona easier

If you're moving to a new home in Arizona, use this to-do list to alleviate some stress and ensure a smoother transition to your new home.

...

Ignite Digital

How to unlock the power of digital marketing for Phoenix businesses

All businesses around the Valley hopes to maximize their ROI with current customers and secure a greater market share in the digital sphere.

Sanderson Ford...

Sanderson Ford

Sanderson Ford congratulates D-backs’ on drive to great first half of 2023

The Arizona Diamondbacks just completed a red-hot first half of the major league season, and Sanderson Ford wants to send its congratulations to the ballclub.

North Carolina House approves ban on transgender athletes