Republicans to Honor Female Athletes Fighting Transgenders in Women’s Sports

Republicans in Connecticut will honor three female high school runners who are suing the local school district and athletic association over its policy to allow male-bodied transgenders to compete in girls’ sports.

Chelsea Mitchell, Alanna Smith and Selina Soule will receive the party’s Courage Award at a fundraising event recognizing women in leadership roles on March 25, state party Chairman J.R. Romano said in an Associated Press (AP) article.

The student athletes filed a lawsuit against several school boards and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), which has a policy in place to allow athletes to compete based on gender identity instead of biological sex.

AP reported that the lawsuit makes the case that male-bodied transgenders have an unfair physical advantage over their female-bodied competitors.

Meanwhile, CIAC defended its policy, saying it complies with state law and two transgender athletes say they should be a part of the girls lawsuit because “their successes on the track have come as a result of hard work and are well within the range of high school track times for non-transgender girls.”

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