Trans runner’s midseason switch from boys to girls sparks outrage. The athlete isn’t the problem.
High school trans athlete Logan Mihailoff in Washington has become the latest center of the national conversation about trans girls in girls sports. This story has a particular element that makes it unique and has given anti-trans-athlete advocates plenty to talk about. It also raises questions not just about whether trans girls are included in […]
Mark
High school trans athlete Logan Mihailoff in Washington has become the latest center of the national conversation about trans girls in girls sports.
This story has a particular element that makes it unique and has given anti-trans-athlete advocates plenty to talk about.
It also raises questions not just about whether trans girls are included in girls sports, but the policies that create opportunities for them.
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What makes this trans-athlete story different from the ones before it? Mihailoff started this cross-country season competing on the Camas High School boys team.
Then she switched to the girls team during the season.
Before talking about what that switch has looked like on the course, it’s important to consider what the athlete must be experiencing to request change teams. Internal struggles. Team environment. There could be friend issues, family complications.
It’s easy for a lot of people to lose sight of the fact that, at the heart of these conversations are individuals — teenagers trying to figure out life.
And no, trans athletes don’t transition so they can do better in races. Regardless of anti-trans detractors, no reasonable person thinks a teenager would put themselves through what Mihailoff is being put through by major national voices to win a race.
With that said, in this case, Mihailoff has improved her results.
Logan Mihailoff has done better against girls than against boys
On Sept. 5, Mihailoff competed for Camas on the boys team in a race that involved runners from 22 schools. Mihailoff finished 76th of 302 runners that day, 15th of the Camas runners. Camas won the meet.
On Sept. 15, Mihailoff competed for Camas on the girls team in a duel meet against Skyview, won by Camas. Mihailoff finished seventh of 41 runners, fifth on her team. Not the fastest, but fast enough to score her team points.
Two weeks later, Camas had a meet against Union. Mihailoff again ran with the girls. Of the 46 runners who finished the race, Mihailoff won gold.
So when news broke that a number of girls on the Camas team lined up to start a race and walked off the course in objection to their trans teammate, the whole story blew up. Mihailoff finished second in that race of pared-down participants.
Now anti-trans media and advocates have all the video, quotes and results they need to tell a story. Not the full story, but a story I’m afraid is going to hurt Mihailoff and other trans athletes.
And most “mainstream media” outlets have allowed the anti-trans voices to dominate the story.
I can’t find a single mention of the topic on websites for CNN, NBC, The New York Times or virtually any major “mainstream media” outlet, all afraid to tackle this story.
Trans participation with smarter policies
As various sports organizations have wrestled with trans-athlete policies, switching teams with no mandated transition has been a topic I’ve raised for years. Policies like that in Washington, California and other states allow trans track and field student-athletes to run against the boys one day, and against the girls the next.
I’ve been told over and over by some trans advocates this situation just doesn’t happen. “Best practice is to have athletes complete a season in the gender category they started in.” That sure seems like best practice to me.
Yet here we are.
“Athletes will participate in programs consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed,” current WIAA policy says. There is no transition requirement, only that the athlete declares their gender or — oddly — expresses themself a certain way.
Seemingly there is some guideline about how a “girl” expresses herself, or a “boy” himself. As the school year progresses, could this student or any student choose to express themselves differently on different days?
The WIAA policy also shares its inclusion of nonbinary student-athletes, but it doesn’t give guidance beyond “expression” to a fluidity of gender-category participation.
The policy doesn’t address this.
Now a couple of weeks before Washington voters cast ballots determining whether trans girls like Mihailoff can run alongside other girls at all, the resulting headlines of bad policy that doesn’t follow best practices is erupting.
The timing could not be worse.
As I did repeatedly with Lia Thomas and the NCAA, I point critics and naysayers to not blame the athlete. It’s the policymakers who need to check themselves, do better and get this right.
They should stop listening to LGBTQ advocates who say “self-declaration” should determine an athlete’s gender category in high school sports, or who support a mid-season switch of categories for trans athletes.
This was bad policy when I pushed back against it a decade ago, and it’s bad policy today.
In the meantime, I hope everyone allows Mihailoff to do her best, compete in her sport and find people who care about her and support her.
She wants to compete and she’s broken no rule.
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