Persuasive Essay On High School Sports

Playing sports is something that children in America look forward to, especially after a challenging day at school. Not only is it a way to meet new people and learn life lessons, but it is also a way to relieve stress. Students look forward to making new friends and developing relationships with their coaches. Sports should be fair and enjoyable. Sadly, that is not what is happening on a daily basis. Through the rise of transgender people feeling safe with transitioning, young children and teens have wanted to continue playing sports for the gender they identify as. Girls want to play in men's leagues, and vice versa. Though transgender children should be seen as equal, they should not be allowed to participate on high school sports teams

The medication that people take for transitioning is called testosterone, which gives athletes an upper hand in sports. The medication gives them different muscle strengths, such as an increase in muscle mass. With the medication, the transition period takes “months to years to complete '' and people would still possess male-like features (LaChance). As males are slowly transitioning to females, they continue to have some male features, making participation in sports challenging. Alice Dreger, a professor of bioethics, explained that “male bodies come with competitive advantages in sports that reward speed and strength,” allowing them to be more athletic (Dreger). It would not make sense if men and women competed together due to their biological differences. If men competed with women, they would have an unfair athletic advantage. A student athlete at The Weber School

The governor of Oklahoma passed a bill that states “[g]irls should compete against girls, [b]oys should compete against boys”(Stritt). However, Stritt has not been the only governor to pass a bill banning transgender athletes from playing sports; 19 other states have started passing similar bills. The Kansas Legislature approved the “ban [on] transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports” (Hannah). Not allowing transgender athletes to participate is so that everyone gets an equal opportunity to succeed. Putting a ban on transgender participation benefits the people who have worked hard their whole life to be able to compete and win against people of their own sex. Throughout the country, many believe that transgender kids should not be allowed to play sports. Many more states have started the process of trying to ban transgender athletes from competing in sports