Sports has always been a contest of skill, not a stage for oppression. Many children grow up with dreams of proving themselves in arenas that promise equal opportunity to all. But for transgender athletes, the playing field has never been truly level. Their fight for recognition and inclusion continues to be undermined by prejudice and discriminatory policies, raising questions about fairness and identity in sports.
Back in the closet
Decades of resistance against rigid norms have paved the way for transgender athletes to compete openly, earn recognition, and find safe spaces within the sporting world. While progress has been slow and often met with resistance, policies and leagues gradually became more inclusive, as the visibility of trans athletes helped drive progress in the ever-evolving world of athletics.
However, the return of the Trump administration has reversed much of this progress. On February 5, during the Women and Girls in Sports Day in the United States, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. The following day, the NCAA amended its policies, restricting participation to individuals assigned female at birth. This shift enabled federal agencies to withhold Title IX funding from institutions that failed to comply, enforcing a rigid interpretation of gender based solely on biological sex at birth.
These new policies have far-reaching consequences. Notably, they diminish the chances of trans athletes to pursue professional careers in their chosen fields. These measures not only bar them from competition but also reinforce prejudice and bias against their community, where they once felt welcome. Many are now forced to shrink themselves and shove their identities back in the closet.
The line between fairness and parity
The inclusion of transgender athletes has ignited discourse on the definition of parity in sports. Critics tend to assume that trans women have inherent physical advantages over their cisgender counterparts. However, as International Studies Department Assistant Professor Anastacio Marasigan Jr. points out, this belief is often based on mere assumption rather than evidence.
“There is already this notion that [just] because you are trans, you will be outperforming me [because] you [are] stronger. But there is this misunderstanding. We have not really seen how the trans and [cisgender people] compete. We have to establish that,” Marasigan Jr. explains.
He further emphasizes that this discussion should challenge all athletes to level up their game, instead of seeing trans athletes as threats. Sports, after all, is centered around the time and effort invested in development, training, and support—not simply biological traits. Fairness, he argued, should be about enabling every athlete to reach their potential rather than policing their identities.
Hormone regulation and transition periods also complicate the issue. Treatments such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are not always predictable; they come with potential effects that may put athletes at risk. These treatments may reduce muscle mass and alter other physical characteristics, but the effects are neither immediate nor uniform. “Actually, if you look at [HRT], mayro’n itong disadvantage sa trans[genders] kasi mayro’n itong…side effects [that] will manifest themselves after a certain period of time. So you can just imagine the risk of a trans person taking hormones,” Marasigan Jr. shares.
(Actually, if you look at HRT, this gives a disadvantage to transgenders because some of the side effects will manifest themselves after a certain period of time.)
What may be perceived as a competitive edge can, in practice, pose real disadvantages, as trans athletes adjust to the hormone levels and changes brought upon by HRT. These variations underscore the need for evidence-based standards to ensure fairness and transparency. Without proper research, people risk generalizing trans athletes’ capabilities.
The true competition
The consequences of excluding transgender athletes go far beyond the playing field. Being denied the chance to pursue a career in sports leaves players feeling like outsiders, robbed of a stage they trained and sacrificed for. “If you are banning just one group of people for no particular reason and there is no clear justification, [that] is discrimination. Banning the transgender community from competing only creates division. It only puts a certain community at the edge, making them more marginalized than [they already [are], as you are not allowing them [to participate],” exclaims Marasigan Jr.
As the conversation around transgender inclusion in sports intensifies, suggestions are brought up to meet ends for equality. The most common proposition is to create a separate division for transgender athletes, hoping to strike a balance between inclusion and fairness. While some believe this ensures a level playing field, others argue this only reinforces the very stigma it aims to undo. “It’s not normalizing when you start creating these kinds of divisions, na parang okay, pang-trans lang ‘to. That does not promote equality when you do that,” the professor adds.
(…as if okay, this is for trans athletes only.)
The fundamental question, then, is whether sports should be defined by gender or by skill and commitment. For Marasigan Jr., creating separate categories for trans and non-trans athletes can lead to further misconceptions, not only about transgender individuals but also about women, by implying they are incapable of competing on equal footing.
Tearing it down
Rather than creating more divisions, the true path forward lies in integration. Marasigan reflects on how gymnastics was once viewed as a women’s sport until male athletes began receiving more recognition. The inclusion of the trans community can similarly enrich sports. “Allowing the trans community to participate makes sports more vibrant and inclusive, helping both athletes and the community grow.”
Sports should not be a tournament for identity politics but rather a common ground for passion, discipline, and shared humanity. True inclusion strives to tear down walls, not build new ones. Every athlete, regardless of gender identity, deserves the chance to be recognized not for labels, but for the skill they worked to realize.
This calls the sports community to implement evidence-based guidelines, supported by experts and the trans athletes themselves, to ensure fairness without resorting to exclusion. Because when regulation is more focused on exclusion than equity, it becomes essential to ask: Are these truly about leveling the playing field, or are they merely drawing the lines of disqualification?
This article was published in The LaSallian‘s June 2025 issue. To read more, visit bit.ly/TLSJune2025.
