Transgender athlete's win at Illinois middle school track meet sparks heated debate

NBC News

21-05-2025

Debate over a transgender student's win in a middle school girls track meet grew heated at a school board meeting in suburban Illinois this week.
The meet took place at Jefferson Middle School in Naperville, about 30 miles west of Chicago, where the student athlete won multiple events, becoming a microcosm of a national debate over trans athletes in sports.
During public comment at a Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Board meeting Monday, nearly 100 parents could be seen in the audience, some raising transgender pride flags, others holding signs that read 'Protect Girls Sports' and 'Stop Exploiting Kids.'
At one point, an audience member could be heard shouting 'Protect trans youth' before being escorted out of the meeting.
Parents opposed to the student's participation in the meet have asked for federal funds to be frozen at District 203 until the board changes course on its athletics policies, arguing they are in violation of Title IX.
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funds.
Awake Illinois, a nonprofit organization advocating against gender-affirming care for minors, filed a federal civil rights complaint against the district over the meet.
Parents who spoke in the meeting argued the student's participation 'creates an unfair playing field for our daughters' while others expressed support for the school's inclusive policy.
Illinois' Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in educational settings in the state.
'Transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming students often face barriers to participation in school athletics and other gender-based activities. Physical education, school sports teams, and school clubs are considered 'facilities, goods and services' under the Act and students are entitled to participate in these activities free from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender-related identity,' the Illinois Department of Human Rights stated, adding that 'students cannot be prevented from access to, full participation in, or the equal enjoyment of extracurricular activities due to their gender-related identity.'
In a statement, District 203 said it is 'committed to protecting the privacy of all students.'
'In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and district policy, we cannot and will not share personal or identifiable information about any student without appropriate consent,' the statement read. 'In regards to our procedures, Naperville 203 adheres to the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Illinois State Board of Education guidance, which prohibit discrimination in schools and ensure full and equal access to programs and services regardless of gender identity or other protected characteristics.'
No action was taken at the meeting Monday.
'The initial reaction to start filing court cases with the Department of Justice and turn a 13-year-old or a 12-year-old's life into a spectacle...that's just not a very humane thing to be doing,' Kristal Larson with the LGBTQ Center in Grayslake told NBC Chicago.
Larson noted that a child's ability to participate in sports is pivotal to their mental health.
Dr. Kelsey Leonardsmith, who treats transgender children from several states at the Family Tree Clinic in Minneapolis, and is a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said transgender girls and women are already underrepresented in sports and make up just a tiny percentage of student athletes. She disputed the contention of critics that allowing them to participate in girls sports gives them unfair advantages and puts other girls in physical danger.
'Shutting out trans girls helps no one, and it is profoundly harmful to those it excludes,' Leonardsmith said. 'On the surface, it removes opportunities for physical activity, for fitness, for belonging. But on a more fundamental level, it says to trans youth, 'We do not believe you, you are not real,' and it is hard to imagine a more damaging message to send to children.'
Cases of transgender athletes in women sports have been at the center of nationwide debates since President Donald Trump took office.
In 2022, the NCAA used a sport-by-sport approach to allow transgender athletes to participate, deferring to an individual sport's national governing organization, international federation or prior established International Olympic Committee criteria.
The NCAA changed its policy the day after Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 5 that was intended to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women's sports. That ended its sport-by-sport practice in favor of a blanket policy that only allows athletes assigned female at birth to participate in women's sports.
The Illinois High School Association 'allows participation by students consistent with their gender identity subject to applicable federal and state laws,' though they have urged state officials to communicate with federal authorities to 'provide clear direction.'
The Education Department has already opened reviews of San Jose State University volleyball, Denver Public Schools, Portland Public Schools, Oregon School Activities Association and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, among others.