STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Chris Mosier has been listening with us. He was the first openly transgender man to represent the United States in international competition. He's also the founder of transathlete.com, and it's online. Welcome. Good morning.
CHRIS MOSIER: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: What did you make of this ruling?
MOSIER: You know, it was incredibly disappointing but not surprising. This is something that has been a hallmark of this administration and of the Republican Party for the last five or six years - really dialing in on targeting transgender people as a way to distract people from other issues going on and to garner more votes.
INSKEEP: You mentioned the Republican Party. I suppose if the justices were here, they would say, listen, Republicans may have appointed some of us, but we're ruling on the law. Do you take this as a partisan ruling rather than one on the law?
MOSIER: (Laughter) I wouldn't say that anything coming out of this court is partisan. It seems like it is highly charged and there's a lot of shady, behind-the-scenes things going on, in my opinion. I've advocated for SCOTUS term limits, and I think that what we are seeing right now is that people's politics are driving these decisions.
INSKEEP: You've been in touch with the family of the teenage student known in the court papers as B.P.J., I believe, one of the plaintiffs in this case. What did you hear back?
MOSIER: You know, when I spoke with her mom yesterday, she said that she'd delivered the news to Becky and that, you know, she took it, understanding that this was a possibility. But what really stood out to me was how much Becky really wants to help other kids. So many trans people become accidental activists because we are fighting for our own rights, and that's my story as well. And I had hoped that the work that I had done would create a pathway where kids like Becky would never have to be in a position to advocate for themselves. But Becky has stood up and put herself in the spotlight for this cause, and because of that, kids in the states with inclusive policies are still able to play. And so, you know, she's - she is moving now into a position of advocacy, understanding that there's really a need for this sort of visibility and people who can speak on behalf of our community.
INSKEEP: Interesting point you make there - this is state by state. The court ruling says states may ban transgender athletes, not that they must, and so it's state by state. But let me ask about the politics, since you brought it up. Your position on this issue, as I'm sure you're well aware, has lost a good part of the public on this. They argue over this very specific issue, and specifically of transgender girls in girls' sports. And we heard people in Selena's story discuss safety issues, but there are also parents who will argue competitive fairness rules, claiming that transgender girls get a competitive advantage. How do you answer somebody who may be listening to us now who feels that way?
MOSIER: Yeah, absolutely. We wrote a whole book about it. I worked with two incredible authors, Ellie Roscher and Dr. Anna Baeth, to write a book called "Fair Game: Trans Athletes And The Future Of Sports," and in that, we actually spoke with 20 transgender athletes. In the past six years, Steve, so many people have been talking about trans athletes but not actually talking to us, and so we really wanted to use our platforms to uplift the voices of the trans community to share their stories from their own words. And through that, we bust four major myths about transgender athletes.
The reason those myths are so pervasive is that there's been a coordinated effort to really control the public narrative through media and social media, which happens so quickly, and it has been incredibly effective to change the way that people think about, talk about and treat the trans community. And sports has been the driver of that.
INSKEEP: Well, let me just - to get to maybe one of those, I mean, there are parents who will say, well, this transgender girl has an advantage in body mass or physical strength or lung capacity. How do you answer the concern of that parent?
MOSIER: Every single person is different, and all bodies are different in different sports, and so, you know, it's difficult to give you a quick soundbite on this. And that's why this is so hard for us on the side of inclusion, is that it's very easy to say, well, that's unfair. No, you shouldn't be able to play. But to actually talk about the science, to have a nuanced conversation about what trans inclusion can and should look like, is incredibly difficult in a 30-second piece.
INSKEEP: But you're arguing that it can be fair, that it should be fair, that it is fair?
MOSIER: Sports can and should have policies, and they have for decades. There have been policies that have allowed transgender athletes to participate with their peers without issues on the books long before 2020 and the first anti-trans sports laws came into play. And I really believe that there is a possibility and a future for sports if we think more creatively about how these policies are being applied and make sure that they're specific to the level of play and the ages of the participants as well.
INSKEEP: Ah, that's a factor as well. Chris Mosier, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
MOSIER: Thank you.
INSKEEP: He's co-author of "Fair Game: Trans Athletes And The Future Of Sports."
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
