Banning Trans kids from Sports Is a Horrible Idea
I've been reading the news about transkids getting banned from sports. Whether it's legislation or ignorant chatter on the internet, people are talking about it, and personally, I think it's a horrible idea. As if life isn't hard enough for everyone, we're going to make even harder by banning transkids from doing what kids do: play.
It's a Knee Jerk reaction, but I understand the legitimate concern...
Half of the reason so many of us love sports is because it's a level playing field. Competition is fair because everyone is bound to the same set of rules and only the most skilled athletes make it to the elite levels. So let's consider the fact that now we have transkids that may choose to play a sport, and when they are young, it really doesn't matter because most recreation leagues have coed teams, so gender won't really affect whether or not a transkid can plan or not, but where it would matter is for organized and high school sports because as children develop, boys tend to be faster, stronger and taller than most girls on average.
If you look at speed competitions like swimming and running, men were, on average, 10% faster than women and the fastest woman sprinter broke the record back in 1998, and as far as I know women still compete in sprinting events. Boys also grow to be about 4-6 inches taller than women, on average and thus, their bodies carry more muscle mass which in turn gives men more strength. Even when you look at the strongest men and women in the world there's a difference in strength. The only area that women have an advantage is in endurance.
Women's bodies convert calories to energy far more efficiently than men which is why long distance events are sometimes coed because women don't hit a wall like men do while running distance and some women even beat men in these long distance events. Competition is fair across the board which is why men's and women's leagues are often times separated.
It's an important thing to consider because even though it's just sports, when kids start competing at the high school level, they have the potential to be scouted for scholarships, so it's even more critical that the playing field be level. Let's say you have a trans boy that wants to basketball. He's pretty good, but only stands at 5'3" going into high school. In the high school there are 500 kids and 50 of them want to play basketball and of those 50, the trans boy is the only one under 5'8" tall.
Automatically, that kid isn't making the high school team unless they can really ball, but basketball is about height when you play with men. The tallest men dominate the game and while some shorter men have played at the pro-level, it's very uncommon for anyone under 5'8" to even make it onto a high school team let alone out of high school. Again, not saying, shorter kids won't make it, but that's the nature of basketball, the tallest are the going to automatically make the cut.
Now, if it's just a recreational league, it won't matter too much because the parents paid for their kid to be there and play, so it's only fair that they get placed on a team and get some playing time, but high school isn't like that. It's far more competitive and only the best and physically gifted make it and that goes for both, boys and girls.
Let's flip the scenario a little bit, and say that we have a trans girl that wants to play basketball, by the time she's a freshman she's already 5'9", and her parents don't have the money for hormone replacement therapy. Most girls that age average don't get taller than about 5'6" and I mentioned earlier that boys generally tend to get 4-6 inches taller than girls, this transgirl is already ahead of the curve and because she isn't going through hormone replacement therapy, her body will keep maturing like that of the gender she was born as meaning she will get taller, be 10% faster and somewhat stronger, which, makes a huge difference when we talk about fair competition.
That transgirl is already going to get picked because she is taller, which generally would be fair if she were cisgendered, but even girls her size won't stack up because the transgirl is developing a man's body, not to be disrespectful, but I'm calling it like it is. So when you think about that, just imagine Lebron playing in the WNBA with a wig and that's what people don't want, and I'd imagine there are some female athletes that would feel the same way.
For the sake of protecting fair competition, I get why there would be a legitimate concern either way. All players should be playing where they have a fair chance to make the team and/or play which brings me to my next point. Outside of boy and girls, what about gender fluid kids? Where would they play because they may not even ever consider surgery or therapy, so how do we include them as well and keep things fair? 
Is it legitimate concern or outrage from fear??
The answer is, yes, there are people out there who are simply afraid of what they don't understand and what's different which is why it's a knee jerk reaction. All that stuff I mentioned earlier will be small and isolated incidences. Transgenders, gender fluid and non-binary make up a very small percentage of the population and ones that want to participate in sports make up an even smaller percentage of the population, but just because that is that case doesn't mean those things I mentioned shouldn't be considered.
Think it about, what if the trans son I mentioned earlier was your child and they just never made the high school team because they were too short, but conversely had they been a cisgendered girl they'd have made the team no problem because they were closer to their high and physiological build. Let's say you have a daughter that's been on Varsity basketball for the past two seasons and one of the star boys comes out as a trans girl and your daughter doesn't make the team next year because that transgirl took her spot. She was taller and faster the coach tells you. You just tell your daughter, better luck next year?
It could happen because people don't all transition at the same time. People don't have access to the same level of care, so physiologically, there's a difference and that's something to consider when we talk about keeping competition fair. People will also take advantage of the system as well. I know it's a deep dark hypothetical that's stupid and people just say out of fear, but it's also the truth, so how do we prevent people from taking advantage of the situation before someone actually does?
Coed Sports teams are the answer
If you've made it this far, you probably think I lean towards keeping kids separate, but honestly, I'm just stating facts. We work hard to keep sports fair for all those who participate, and obviously, some are more talented and physically gifted than others, but men generally hold an edge where counts physically which makes competition with girls unfair. Men are 10% faster than women, it's a proven statistic, and that's why women don't sprint against men because they would lose far more than they would ever win just based on data.
All that being said, I think the only real and logical answer is to add coed sports to high school and college as well as making sure that youth leagues offer coed teams if they don't already. The first reason I think this is the only logical answer is because we as the public fund school sports; both college and high school, so all kids should have equal access to compete for a chance to play organized sports for their school and recreation leagues will be an overflow for those kids that don't make it on the school sports' teams.
The next reason I think it's the only solution is because coed is the only place where both men and women play as equals so gender won't matter and this will allow for genderfluid kids and nonbinary kids to play as well without having to declare a gender. It allows for modified rules like teams having to have a certain amount of boys and girls on the field at one time. For instance, in coed indoor soccer, leagues mandate that coed teams have at least 3 women on the field at all times. This keeps the men from dominating play time and it also makes sure that one team doesn't create an unfair advantage by having more men on the field than women. This is just an example of a rule; I'm not saying they SHOULD implement that, it was just an example.
Next, coed teams eliminate anyone from being able to say that their kid was discriminated against or that a team cheated because they had so and so. If all teams are coed then everyone is allowed to play, so no one will be able to use any excuses about unfair advantages and stuff like that. Obviously, there will still be people who will complain, but at least the majority will be happy.
Lastly, coed teams just add another place for kids to play. Case in point, girls' football isn't a common thing, but what if they made a coed team where men and women could play? Starting an all women's football team might not have interest, but if they added a coed football team girls, trans, non-binary, and genderfluid kids can play as well. Volleyball is another sport that men like to play, but it's not popular because there are mostly women's and girls leagues, so if they added a coed team they may have some people who want to play. The point is that more kids would get an opportunity to play and being included which is always a good thing.
Wrap-up
Physiologically speaking, boys and girls are different and their bodies develop in different ways which is why at a certain age we separate the two because on average, when it comes to sports, nature tends to favor men and that's not me being sexist, it's just documented statistical truth, so when considering on whether or not to let transkids play sports or not there are a lot of people who have legitimate concerns and some are just full of crap, but either way the concerns are legitimate and the only way to fully address them and allow kids an equal opportunity to play is to incorporate more coed teams into the athletic offerings.
Kids want to play and they should be able to. Banning transkids is stupid because the difference between boys and girls really doesn't start until high school and at the end of the day trans, non-binary, and gender fluid kids make up a small percentage of the population and ones that play sports are even smaller, so even if they do let them play it won't make that much of difference, but to ensure that no one takes advantage and to protect the sanctity of fair competition, coed leagues are the only logical solution.
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