Should Ohio lawmakers bar schools from allowing transgender athletes to compete?
In early February, two Ohio legislators introduced the Save Womens Sports Act, Ohio House Bill 61. It would require that every Ohio school, school district and public and private institution of higher education that fields competitive interscholastic sports teams create single-sex teams, with the athletes sex verified by a signed physicians statement if challenged. The bill has been mired in committee ever since. On June 24, proponents of this legislation amended its anti-transgender-athlete contents into a seemingly must-pass bill to allow college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. Ohio State University officials wanted that law in place by July 1 to ensure, for competitive recruitment purposes, that Ohio was among states with such legislation before the NCAA announced its plans. Which is why Senate Bill 187 was on an uncontroversial fast track until it became a poison pill bill June 24. The House passed it on a mostly party-line vote that day, but Ohio Senate leadership made clear the Senate would not be moving it with the transgender amendment. Gov. Mike DeWine rode to the rescue, earning Buckeye bundles of joy by signing an executive order June 28 allowing the states college athletes to profit from their names, likenesses and images. Meantime, lawmakers are seemingly back to Square One on getting a transgender athletic ban enacted in Ohio. Cleveland.coms Andrew J. Tobias reports that Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia are among states enacting bans in recent months, with more than 20 other states considering such bans. DeWine thinks so -- arguing in a recent statement that instead of the legislature stepping into this arena, Ohio should leave it up to athletic governing bodies like the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) to police. Leila Atassi, managing producer, public interest and advocacy:  The Ohio High School Athletic Association is in the right position to make policy governing the participation of transgender athletes. State lawmakers, on the other hand, are far outside their lane. They paid the price when they tried to shoehorn a transgender ban into an unrelated bill that, until then, enjoyed wide bipartisan support. Thomas Suddes, editorial writer:  Mike DeWine has a reasonable position on this matter, with emphasis on reasonable. In fact, this is just another manufactured controversy by people whose real agenda is political gain, not public good. Ted Diadiun, columnist:  The Legislature should come to the rescue of girls sports, but eventually everything winds up in court, anyway. Once, the idea of a biological boy declaring himself a girl and then beating out an actual girl in athletic competition would have been preposterous, and unfair. Raise your hand if you think the courts will see it that way. Eric Foster, columnist:  Yet another legislative solution in search of a problem. There may be some transgender athlete dominating high school sports somewhere, but that is certainly not the case in Ohio. There are too many real problems that could use legislators time and attention. Lisa Garvin, editorial board member:  Transgendered women athletes do have a competitive advantage for about a year after transition, which is sensibly addressed by OHSAA policy. But I find it troubling that most proposed legislation only covers transgendered women. Its as if lawmakers used a little kernel of science to create legal precedent that could eventually affect the entire trans community. Mary Cay Doherty, editorial board member:  Leaving the decision to athletic governing bodies obscures the broader question. Ohioans deserve a voice in these profound legal and cultural decisions. As such, elected state lawmakers should legislatively address transgender participation in womens sports. Elizabeth Sullivan, opinion director:  The OHSAA has it exactly right. This should be about fairness, not knee-jerk discrimination against transgender youth in Ohio. Fairness means fair access to competition and appropriate criteria to ensure fair competition based on actual physical attributes and medical science. Blanket anti-transgender bans such as that proposed in Ohio are unfair, unmerited and cruel. * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions about our editorial board or comments on this editorial board roundtable to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.