Transgender High School Wrestler Wins Regional Title Amid Pending Lawsuit

Mack Beggs, a transgender teen who is undergoing the transition from female to male, won a girls' Texas regional wrestling championship after his opponent refused to wrestle.

According to a report by Michael Florek of the Dallas Morning News, Briggs was competing in the 110-pound championship at Saturday's Class 6A Region II wrestling meet when his opponent, Madeline Rocha, forfeited. 

A wrestling parent of Coppell High School, the school Rocha attends, filed a lawsuit against the University Interscholastic League in hopes of preventing Beggs from wrestling. Beggs is taking testosterone treatment as he makes his transition.

"I respect that completely, and I think the coaches do," attorney Jim Baudhuin said. "All we're saying is she is taking something that gives her an unfair advantage. It's documented. It's universal that it's an unfair advantage."

Pratik Khandelwal, who has a daughter on the Coppell wrestling team, is named as the plaintiff in the case. Baudhuin also has a daughter on the Coppell wrestling team. Neither of their daughters were in Beggs' weight class.

"Today was not about their students winning," said Nancy Beggs, Mack Beggs' grandmother and guardian. "Today was about bias, hatred and ignorance. [Mack Beggs and wrestlers from the Coppell team] have wrestled each other before, they know each other and they were not happy with this."  

UIL rules dictate that athletes compete against the gender they were assigned on their birth certificate. Mack Beggs' grandmother says he does want to compete against boys but was denied. The UIL approved Beggs competing against girls after receiving his medical records in 2015-16.

Beggs is scheduled to compete in this week's state championships.