A 17-year-old transgender boy who uses testosterone while competing for a girls wrestling title has sparked controversy over his unfair advantage. On Saturday, he completed an undefeated season in an event clouded by criticism from those who believe that he has an unfair advantage due to the testosterone he's taking as he transitions from female to male. Mack Beggs' family has said he would rather be wrestling boys, but state policy prevents him from doing so.
In Texas, a policy calls for students to wrestle against the gender listed on their birth certificates. "Mack wants to wrestle boys and he'll never be recognized as a boy because of the birth certificate in the state of Texas," Mack's family says. The birth certificate policy was passed last August by the University Interscholastic League (UIL) with an overwhelming 95 percent of the vote.
The transgender's testosterone use is deemed valid, even though the substance is banned from the sport, due to medical reasons. The junior from Trinity High School's Euless Trinity team, was born female but is transitioning to a man. The process requires him to get testosterone treatments, and also have put him in hot water as he continues to compete while using the hormone, the Chicago Tribune reports.
People are saying that he was able to beat Chelsea Sanchez 12-2 in the 110-pound weight class to improve to 56-0 and earn the championship because of his hormone treatments. Beggs reached the state tournament after two opponents forfeited. He was followed with questions throughout the event about whether his testosterone treatments made him too strong to wrestle fairly against girls, the Mirror Online reports.
Despite controversy, UIL deputy director Jamey Harrison says that he believes that the outcome of the tournament was fair. Beggs' case fuels recent gender issues as the public and politicians debate the growing belief that gender is fluid. Recently, the Trump administration announced an end to a protection that allows transgender students to use facilities based on their gender identity, leaving school districts to determine their own policies.
