Mikael McLaren counts himself as one of the lucky parents. When his daughter, now 21, sought to run cross-country in middle school and field hockey in high school, she was allowed. He didn’t have to go toe-to-toe with her school over regulations barring trans students from playing sports that aligned with their gender identity, or break the news that it would deny her the same access to athletic opportunities afforded to other girls in her school. It wasn’t without some obstacles, but her teams didn’t care that she was transgender; they only cared that she could play. Ultimately, his daughter had the power to decide for herself to quit hockey her senior year as the political climate in Ohio became more hostile.
But McLaren knows that many other transgender children aren’t so supported, and he fears the Supreme Court has now opened the door for even fewer to have the same access his child had. On June 30, the court ruled 6-3 in favor of laws in West Virginia and Idaho banning transgender student athletes from competing in women and girls’ sports. Though the decision was narrow in its scope — the justices maintained that states and school associations should create policies on sports participation that best suit their students’ specific needs — parents say it doesn’t change how harmful the ruling is and will be to transgender children.
