The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association recently updated a policy to comply with federal directives which stipulate only students whose sex assigned at birth was female are allowed to compete in high school athletics, according to a press release.
The association oversees competition for 15 recognized high school sports in Wisconsin, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
For boys sports, student-athletes may practice and compete in WIAA sports, regardless of the student’s sex assigned at birth or their gender identity. For girls sports, a student whose sex assigned at birth was male may practice their sport, but cannot compete.
A student who is assigned female at birth but is using hormone therapy such as testosterone may also practice the sport but is prohibited from competing.
Put into effect Feb. 19, the new policy negates the one previously established in the WIAA’s 2013 Nondiscrimination Guidelines for Athletics, where the association permitted students to participate on a team which aligns with their gender identity.
Prior to this policy, decisions on transgender athletes were made by schools on a case-by-case basis, according to Rep. Lee Snodgrass, D-Appleton. Rep. Snodgrass and other members of the Wisconsin State Legislature issued a statement Feb. 20 condemning the new policy.
Snodgrass addressed the impact of the policy on the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.
“I think it’s [the policy] another reminder that certain individuals and power structures do not recognize them and in their authenticity to be here themselves,” Snodgrass said.
There is concern among the transgender and nonbinary communities that this policy may lead to the emboldening hatred directed towards their communities, according to Rep. Ryan M. Clancy, D-Milwaukee. Local institutions, such as the WIAA, are responsible for standing up for transgender and nonbinary athletes, Clancy said.
A group of Wisconsin legislators have been meeting with stakeholder groups and lawyers about introducing legislation which protects the transgender community, according to Clancy.
“We spent a lot of time … to make sure that any protections we put in place are going to stand the test of time,” Clancy said.
The WIAA did not immediately respond to request for comment.