Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird Among Athletes to Sign Letter Opposing Trans Athlete Ban

United States women's national team star Megan Rapinoe and WNBA legend Sue Bird were among the athletes to sign a letter voicing their opposition to H.R. 734, a federal bill that would ban transgender and intersex girls and women from participating in girls' and women's school sports.

Athlete Ally published the letter it sent to the House of Representatives:

"Right now, transgender and intersex human rights are under attack, with politicians in Washington D.C. pushing forward H.R. 734, the so-called 'Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act', which would stipulate that Title IX compliance requires banning transgender and intersex girls and women from participating in sports. If this bill passes, transgender and intersex girls and women throughout the country will be forced to sit on the sidelines, away from their peers and their communities. Furthermore, the policing of who can and cannot play school sports will very likely lead to the policing of the bodies of all girls, including cisgender girls. This will deter girls from participating in sports and create additional barriers. Denying children access to a place where they can gain significant mental and physical health benefits, and learn lifelong lessons that come from being part of a team and working hard towards your goals does not protect women in sports."

Rep. Greg Steube sponsored the proposed legislation, which "generally prohibits school athletic programs from allowing individuals whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs that are for women or girls." The bill stipulates it would be a violation of Title IX to allow transgender or intersex women to compete alongside their cisgender counterparts.

Proponents of banning transgender women and girls from competing in girls' and women's sports have pointed to their possible competitive advantages, though the research is far from conclusive.

The NCAA Board of Governors said in January 2022 it approved "a sport-by-sport approach to transgender participation that preserves opportunities for transgender student-athletes while balancing fairness, inclusion and safety for all who compete." Last June, FINA announced new guidelines that effectively banned transgender swimmers from its events.

In March, World Athletics announced transgender women would need to meet certain testosterone thresholds in order to compete.

Across the United States more broadly, state governments have pursued legislation against transgender athletes as part of wider movements against the trans community.

Under the guidance of President Joe Biden, the U.S. Department of Education attempted to thread the needle. It proposed a rule under Title IX that would make blanket transgender bans illegal but leave certain exceptions in place to allow high schools and colleges to exclude trans athletes from competition on teams that reflect their gender identity.

Members of the transgender community and their supporters have shown their disapproval with the Biden administration's stance.