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John,
Today, we are taking part in National Youth Sports Day, a day that brings awareness to the physical and mental health benefits that sports bring to young people’s lives across the country. On this National Youth Sports Day, we are speaking up for ALL youth athletes, including those who are transgender.
Being a kid is hard enough, and can be particularly difficult for transgender students, who often face bullying and harassment. With so much uncertainty in young people’s lives these days, it is important to keep some semblance of normalcy in any way we can. Politicians shouldn’t make this worse by banning students from being part of a team and playing the sports they love.
Help us in our fight to #SupportTransAthletes and #ProtectTransKids from discrimination. Donate $25, or whatever you can, today.
When transgender athletes are excluded from participating on teams as their true selves, they are often left out from sports altogether. Transgender youth simply want to play the sport they love and be a part of a team, just like any other kid, but extremist politicians are trying to stop them. Who are these politicians to rob them of the important life lessons that come with playing on a team like teamwork, self-discipline, success, and failure?
Our laws should protect transgender youth, not encourage discrimination against them. That’s why we were proud to stand with over 60 civil rights organizations to call on the NCAA to relocate their championship events from Idaho, due to the state passing dangerous legislation that bans transgender athletes from participating in school sports. Research shows that when states adopt policies that create new barriers for transgender athletes from participating in sports, participation in sports among all LGBTQ youth drops. That’s why it’s so important to stand up for ALL youth athletes, because diversity and inclusion benefit everyone.
We won’t stop fighting for trans youth. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. We owe it to the next generation to fight for equality on the field, on the pitch, in the halls of Congress--anywhere discrimination lives.
If you #SupportTransAthletes and want to #ProtectTransKids, join our fight by contributing $25, or whatever you can, today.
Sincerely,
Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Action
P.S. -- help us spread the message that trans kids deserve the same opportunities to play the sports they love, just like their peers on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
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