"It makes me feel expendable."

A Washington track athlete and her mom speak out

“The first time I realized there was a boy in my race, I was on the starting line of one of my first cross country races, as a freshman. I looked over and he was obviously a guy. He had a pink scrunchy on but he was clearly a guy with a ponytail.”

A girl in Washington state described her experiences competing in both cross country and track along with now two-time male state champion, Veronica Garcia.

“My first impression was this is not fair. And I was confused and a little scared—it’s weird that this was allowed.”

Weird indeed. Washington was the first state to allow transgender students to compete in alignment with their gender identity back in 2007. Now, there are an unknown number of boys competing in girls’ sports, but Garcia has garnered attention as the only repeat track state champion. While he enjoyed considerable sympathetic press, liberally quoted about how the booing from the crowd fueled his determination to run faster, that critics should “get a life” and that he accomplished what he came to do, none of the girls who also had some feelings to share were interviewed. Media studiously ignore girls who might not be cheerful about giving up their right to their own sport, and censor any displays of support for female-only sports, so unless the protest was captured by an attendee and posted to social media, it didn’t happen. That’s why I spoke with this girl and her mother: They see clearly that their Title IX rights are being violated, and they’re speaking up. Let’s listen.

The track athlete said: “At all of those meets all season, he [Garcia] took a girl’s spot on the track, and at districts and then at state. Every time he took a lane on the track or a place in a race, that should have been a girl’s. It’s frustrating. He bumped me and every other girl down a spot in cross country. They only take the best girls from the region to the Footlocker race in California, but they let this guy run. A girl should have had that opportunity. It makes me feel expendable. The adults are supposed to make guys run in their category, but the adults in power aren’t trying to do anything. If anything, they're trying to let more guys in our race.”

“The media is always talking about boys’ feelings and their mental health. What about girls’ feelings and their mental health?” her mom said.

Speaking to the overused and under-examined claim that sports are inherently unfair, the runner said: “Boys are bigger, stronger, and faster than girls. If I’m beaten by a girl, I know she's worked a lot harder to do it. When I’m beaten by a guy, it’s not because he worked harder or is more talented but just because he’s a guy. Even if he’s a terrible athlete and not taking a spot or beating anybody, if they let in one guy, they’ll let in another who might not be terrible. It’s still not fair.”

As to “inherent unfairness,” her mother added: “Yes, income makes a difference, if you can hire a private coach or buy the expensive shoes but the biggest advantage has always been gender. That's why we have gender-segregated sports. The average boy has advantage over the average girl. This state champion is a mediocre boy. He would have been JV boys’ champion. He would never have even qualified for districts or the state meet.”

Girls are not only being robbed of opportunities and awards, their right to privacy is being flagrantly violated, as anyone who has ever taken SafeSport training knows. Sharing a locker room with a male is clear cut sexual harassment, yet completely legal according to Washington law. The runner described this instance: “My teammate had the opportunity to go to Footlocker regionals, and Garcia got to go too. They had to get a different room for this guy, which is an added expense, and it was really awkward with bathrooms and changing. He uses the [girls’] locker room; it makes everyone uncomfortable, but if coaches say anything they could be fired.”

Her mom added: “Garcia has a special coach, like a bodyguard, just for him. I assume the school district is paying for that.”

Many armchair negotiators have confidently posited that if “all the girls simply refused to compete” the problem would be solved post haste. The high schooler patiently explained the flaws in this “solution”: “It’s hard to really do that. It would make a statement but then we’re sacrificing everything we’ve worked for. If you don’t have race times, colleges won’t call. Either way, you’re missing out.”

And California’s compromise, in which they sought to ameliorate the blatant unfairness of a dominant male athlete by “allowing” a girl to share the podium with him. “I still don't think it's fair,” the runner said. “The girl should have the chance to be on the podium by herself, to be recognized instead of being forced to compromise with a guy. It’s slightly better than just giving him the win but still not the best solution.”

Admitting this is not a problem for teenagers to sort on their own, her mother took a different route: “I contacted WIAA and was told there were two avenues I could try. One was to get WIAA to vote to change the policy, and the other was through legislators to change the state law. I called some legislators and they didn’t even know much about the situation, so that looked like a slow way to go. A bunch of parents and other interested people talked to school boards and really gained a lot of momentum. People were speaking out and we actually got a resolution on the WIAA ballot. They voted on it in April but it didn’t pass. Afterward they told us it wouldn’t have mattered if it did pass because it would go against Washington state law. It’s really frustrating because most people oppose this. It seems like it was put in place so easily, but it’s so hard to undo.”

Protection of women’s sports by an increasing number of international sports organizations is heartening, but this concerned parent is guarded in her optimism: “There are other male runners in our area. How many will it take? My biggest hope is that the policy will change as they’re clamping down more at the elite and college level.”