The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) shared a new video featuring the first openly transgender NCAA Division I athlete, Schuyler Bailar, as he breaks down myths about trans athletes, specifically transgender women, that have gained more traction in the midst of trans sports bans across state legislatures.
HRC Interim President Joni Madison says that many people have questions about trans athletes, and this video helps to answer them.
“Schuyler thoughtfully lays out how these myths are rooted in misinformation and are discredited time and again—Transgender women do not pose any threat to women’s sports,” Madison says. “The decades-long, systemic sexism and racism that plagues women’s sports is the true threat. We are grateful to Schuyler, and transgender athletes everywhere, for paving the way toward a more equitable athletic arena.”
All levels of the government have waged attacks against trans and nonbinary athletes—especially trans women athletes. Last year surpassed 2015 as the worst year for anti-LGBTQ legislation in recent history, and this year is on track to surpass 2021.
An HRC release on the new video states that these attacks are fueled by discrimination, not facts, representing a cruel effort to further stigmatize and discriminate against LGBTQ people and trans youth.
Bailar is joined by numerous athletes at the amateur and professional level who have spoken out in support of their trans teammates and competitors, including Women’s World Cup champion soccer player Megan Rapinoe, tennis icon Billie Jean King, Stanford swimmer Brooke Forde, NBA star Dwyane Wade, Canadian soccer phenom Erin McLeod, WNBA star Napheesa Collier, and many more.
Bailar swam all four years at Harvard, and he’s now an LGBTQ rights and inclusion activist. After graduation and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bailar took to social media to build his social justice work and community. He also has a life coaching business; runs support groups for queer and trans people; and authored a book, Obie Is Man Enough, about a Korean American, transgender kid and swimmer aimed for middle-grade students and up.
Check out the video here:
Photo courtesy of Human Rights Campaign
