‘It felt like I was running with a giant’: Utah transgender sports bill seeks even playing field for girls

For illustrative purposes only, Canton High School's Chelsea Mitchell, left, runs to beat Terry Miller, center, at a track meet in New Haven, Conn., Feb. 14, 2020. Between 2017 and 2019, transgender sprinters Miller and Andraya Yearwood combined to win 15 championship races, prompting a lawsuit on behalf of four cisgender girls. | Photo by Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media via Associated Press, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Utah state Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, is making her second bid to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls sports teams at Utah high schools. Birkeland, a JV girls varsity basketball coach at Morgan High School, argues that biological factors give trans-athletes an unfair advantage over their female-born peers.

Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, addresses the Utah House on HB 302, Salt Lake City, Utah, Feb. 17, 2021 | Photo courtesy of the Utah House, St. George News

Her proposed legislation, Student Athletics Participation, designated as House Bill 11, would allow transgender females to participate in girls sports but prohibit them from taking their skills to meets, matches and games.

The bill, cosponsored by state Sen. Curtis S. Bramble, includes some exceptions. Trans-girls can compete with other young women provided they have undergone a year of hormone therapy.

HB 11 would also require trans-youth hoping to vie against girls on the mat, court or field to show that the sex on their birth certificate has been changed to female. In a May decision, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that judges should grant requests on the part of transgender people to have the sex on their birth certificate altered.

During the 2021 session, Birkeland’s previous bill, Preserving Sports for Female Students, HB 302, was criticized for not addressing the athletic options of transgender boys. HB 11, by contrast, prescribes that a female-to-male transgender student who is taking testosterone would not be able to play on a girls team.

HB 11 still leaves some questions unanswered. It doesn’t say whether puberty blockers will be included under the umbrella of hormone therapy, an alternative suggested by LGBTQ advocates. When St. George News reached out to Birkeland for clarification, she responded via text, writing, “My only comment at this time is that policy is being worked on. Stakeholders around the state are still working to craft good policy.”

Birkeland, who represents House District 53 — comprising Daggett, Duchesne, Morgan, Rich and Summit counties — insists HB 11 is not meant to be exclusionary. Instead, she says it’s aimed at enforcing Title IX provisions and protecting girls’ ability to thrive in student athletics.

The Utah High School Activities Association currently requires a year of hormone therapy before a transgender girl can compete on a female sports team. Birkeland says the added requirement of a birth certificate stating the athlete is female would ensure trans-athletes are committed to gender change as opposed to exploiting a male’s typically greater size, strength and speed for leverage.

Giving it a second go

When Birkleland sponsored HB 302 in 2021 during her freshman year in the Utah state House of Representatives, it drew a great deal of discussion before dying in committee just before the conclusion of the legislative session.

During this time, the bill was pared down from an earlier iteration that would have extended the transgender ban to college athletes. It was still further-reaching than Birkeland’s current bill, with the prohibition applying to all K-12 students.

Birkeland has spent the interim between the end of the 2021 legislative session in March and the start of this year’s legislative session, which commenced Tuesday, working on the bill. Supporters of HB 11 and even some skeptics advocating for the LGBTQ community have expressed appreciation for Birkeland’s willingness to compromise.

Southern Utah state Sen. Evan J. Vickers, a Republican whose District 28 includes Washington, Iron and Beaver counties, said he didn’t feel the bill was ready to pass last year.

Utah state Sen. Evan Vickers speaks in St. George, Utah, Nov. 10, 2017 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

“To her credit, Rep. Birkeland has gone back over the interim and done some hard work,” he said in a recent phone interview with St. George News. “She seems to have found a sweet spot where it is impactful but still respectful … If you look at the language that Rep. Birkeland has proposed, there’s a balance. She’s creating an option for them to compete fairly with a larger group that will be competing against them.”

Southern Utah state Rep. Bradley Last, a Republican whose District 71 includes Washington and Iron counties, says the fixes show Birkeland has an understanding of the give-and-take needed to pass legislation.

Last said in a phone interview that he believes Birkeland’s original intent was to keep transgender youth from competing on girls teams altogether. After working with LGBTQ groups like Equality Now, however, she changed the bill to make it more palatable to constituents on both sides of the ideological divide.

“It’s taken a lot of meetings and effort on her part,” he said. “It’s likely there will be people on the far right and people on the far left who are not happy. Quite often that’s how legislation ends up, because you have to know how to negotiate.”

Advocates cite fairness

Advocates say the proposed legislation would ensure no one brings an undue biological advantage to high school sports. HB 11 has garnered significant support in Southern Utah, including that of Washington County-based state Rep. Walt Brooks, a Republican, who spoke to St. George News on Tuesday.

A referee raises the arm of Mack Beggs of Euless Trinity after he defeated Chelsea Sanchez of Morton Ranch during the UIL State Wrestling Championships at the Berry Center in Cypress, Texas, Feb. 24, 2018. Texas limits transgender athletes to teams conforming with the gender on their birth certificate. That law came under criticism in 2017 and 2018, when transgender male Beggs won state titles in girls’ wrestling competitions after he was told he could not compete as a boy | File photo by Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via The Associated Press, St. George News

“I support the idea completely. The physiology of males and females is different. They’ve created sports like girls basketball and volleyball because we wanted to offer females an environment where they can be successful,” Brooks said. “I absolutely do think girls sports need to be protected. That’s the whole purpose of Title IX, making sure women are getting a fair shake — that they can compete and have those great experiences in high school.”

Brooks says it’s important to have empathy for any students who are struggling, including those living with gender dysphoria, but he feels having biological boys compete against girls “disrupts and defeats the purpose of creating a level playing field.”

“With transgender athletes, just because someone identifies as female doesn’t mean their physiology has changed,” he said. “What about (the girls’) feelings?”

Brooks, who supported Birkeland’s iteration of the bill last year, is poised to do the same for the proposed Student Athletics Participation legislation. Likewise, Vickers says he’ll lend HB 11 his support if the language stays the same or similar to what it was during the interim committee.

Last, who has two grown daughters who competed in tennis as teens, also agrees with HB 11. He says it’s not just about helping girls win but also keeping them out of harm’s way.

Utah State Representative Brad Last in his office at Dixie State University, St. George, Utah, April 5, 2021 | File photo by David Dudley, St. George News

“By the time some of these people transition, they’re pretty well-developed,” he said. “They’re bigger, stronger and their bone structure is different. It creates a real safety issue for these female athletes.”

Last discussed a house hearing held in Feb. 2021 in which both transgender and cisgender athletes testified. He said he felt real sympathy for athletes like Halle Tanne, a Southern Utah runner who spoke on the dispiriting nature of competing against a transgender athlete.

“The first time I raced against a biological male, I remember just feeling bizarre,” Tanne testified. “It felt like I just was running with a giant … This isn’t just about losing a competition, a title or medal. This is about women losing years of hard work, even to some extent a piece of their identity.”

Opponents say transgender ban is harmful

Opponents say the proposed legislation singles out a vulnerable group of young people, making them feel unwelcome and serving to delegitimize their hard-won gender identity.

Mental health concerns are on the minds of many, considering that in October 2021 a joint statement was released — penned by representatives of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association — declaring a national mental health emergency among children and teens. In 2019, suicide was the No. 1 cause of death for kids ages 10-17 in Utah, as well as among young people aged 18-25.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LGBTQ youth, with the “T” in the acronym standing for transgender, are at an even higher risk of mental distress than the general population of kids. About a third of students who don’t conform to sexual or gender norms are bullied and 47% have given serious thought to suicide, according to the CDC’s 2019 Youth Behavior Risk Survey.

In February 2021, a visibly emotional Gov. Spencer Cox said he was unwilling to sign HB 302 as it was then written.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a news conference in Salt Lake City, Aug. 31, 2021 | File photo by Rick Bowmer/Associated Press, St. George News

“These kids … they’re just trying to stay alive,” Cox said during his monthly address to reporters. “There’s a reason none of them are playing sports … And I hope that there will be enough grace in our state to find a better solution.”

Still other opponents, like Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, have voiced practical concerns. Smith, who spoke against HB 302 last year, warned the passage of a transgender sports ban could result in boycotts. This could put the state at risk of losing hosting rights for notable sporting events like the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.

Transgender athletes in Utah’s high schools

The proposed legislation begs the question, are there currently any transgender athletes competing on girls high school sports teams in Utah?

Brooks said he doesn’t believe there have been any problems yet with trans-athletes dominating high school sports in Utah. He said there are, however, instances where it’s become a problem in other states.

“In Utah, when things are becoming really important subjects, we like to be ahead of the curve instead of waiting for it to be a problem,” he said.

Steven Dunham, communications director for the Washington County School District, speaks in St. George, Utah, Sept. 8, 2020 | File photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News

Steven Dunham, communications director for Washington County School District, said the question of transgender athletes competing in sports hasn’t yet come up in the district.

“We’re not aware of any instance like this,” he said in an email, adding that the district doesn’t track how many students identify as transgender.

Should anyone come forward hoping to compete on girls sports teams, he said, “We will follow the law in this regard.”

Dunham noted staff at Washington County schools undertake additional research and professional development in order to better meet the needs of LGBTQ students.

“They are also aware of community resources that can be provided to students and their parents and are trained to help all students feel safe at our schools,” Dunham said. “We do everything we can so these students feel supported, welcome and safe in our schools.”

Last year, the House Education Committee ended the hearing by voting 8-6 to move HB 302 to the House floor. This year, Birkeland’s retooled HB 11 has been introduced to the House Rules Committee and has yet to receive a vote of recommendation.


Check out all of St. George News’ coverage of the 2022 Utah Legislature here.

For a complete list of contacts for Southern Utah representatives and senators, click here.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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