Education Week - September 21, 2022 - 15

"
Even though it causes stress and anxiety, without
softball I would just be way more stressed
and anxious over the entire school year.
It's the ability to not think about life for a few hours.
Ember, 18, plays softball for her team in Ohio.
If passed, an Ohio bill would prohibit Ember from playing girls sports
transgender students' right to participate in sports,
" it would clarify and make explicit that these types
of bans are unlawful, " Patel said.
But the law has also been cited in state bills,
including the Ohio bill, aiming to prevent trans
youth participation in sports.
Louisiana State Sen. Beth Mizell cited Title IX in
a state law she sponsored, titled Fairness in Women's
Sports Act. The law prohibits transgender
women and girls from competing in female sports
by clarifying that girls sports are for " biological females "
and boys sports are for " biological males. "
" Here we are backing off of the basic premise [of
Title IX] that athletics for biological women are a
unique entity and need to be held in that regard, "
Mizell said in an interview. " Now ... we're going to
allow this to happen, which we know will diminish
the competitions between biological female
athletes. "
Mizell believes the Education Department
"
One of the most important
things that field hockey
has taught me is how to fall
and get back up again.
Rebekah Bruesehoff, a 15-year-old transgender
field hockey player, lives in a state where she
can compete on a girls team
"
We don't want
to have all
of these attacks
on us. We just
want to play like
any other kid.
Sivan Kotler-Berkowitz,
a 17-year-old transgender
soccer player who lives
in Massachusetts, where his
ability to play on boys
sports teams
is protected
boys basketball coach and athletic director at the
Greenburgh-North Castle school district in Dobbs
Ferry, N.Y.
Nicodemo doesn't have to worry about restrictive
laws in his state, but when students travel to other
parts of the country, like nearby Connecticut, the
rules are different. The lack of consistency is " really
problematic, " he said.
" The perfect solution, if it were ever possible,
would be to have guidelines that are the same, " he
said. " Every state is operating under a completely
different set of rules right now. It's really creating
chaos. "
For the transgender students at the heart of it all,
the rhetoric, media attention, and near-constant
news is emotionally draining at best and silencing
at worst. In a survey conducted earlier this year by
the Trevor Project, 83 percent of transgender and
nonbinary youth said they have worried about trans
and nonbinary people being denied the ability to
play sports.
" We don't want to have all of these attacks on us, "
said Kotler-Berkowitz, the Massachusetts soccer
player. " We just want to play like any other kid. "
The power of Title IX
Field hockey taught Rebekah Bruesehoff perseverance.
The 15-year-old transgender high school
sophomore in New Jersey started the sport when she
was 10, and she credits it for helping her develop a
" growth mindset. "
" One of the most important things that field
hockey has taught me is how to fall and get back up
again, " Rebekah said. " I'm definitely not the best
person on my team. Learning from mistakes I may
make during a game or just being with peers who
are better than me, trying to keep up with them and
learning from what they do, that's been really valuable. "
Like
Kotler-Berkowitz, Rebekah is living in a state
that allows her to compete in girls sports. She transitioned
at 8 years old, and so far her introduction to
field hockey has been without major complications,
even with moves to three different schools.
But Rebekah's mother, Jamie Bruesehoff, still worries.
" Every
time I'm standing on the sidelines at a
game, I look around and I'm like, 'Who's going to
be the one that decides this is a problem?' " said
Bruesehoff, who works for GenderCool, a national
campaign to promote understanding of transgender
and nonbinary people. " We've been really lucky that
hasn't happened but, as the political rhetoric gets
more and more intense, you're kind of just waiting
for it to be a problem even though she's protected
by law. "
Bruesehoff believes Title IX already protects her
daughter's right to play field hockey, and she's not
alone. The federal law has been referenced by advocates
on both sides of the issue, who say it bolsters
their argument.
" I would argue that Title IX already prohibits this
type of discrimination, " said Shiwali Patel, a lawyer
with the National Women's Law Center. If the department
were to add specific language protecting
should leave the question up to the states. If the
department's rulemaking ultimately threatens
the legality of the Louisiana Fairness in Women's
Sports Act, Mizell expects the state government
to fight that.
" To go into this area of conversation, that's quite
a leap, " Mizell said of the federal government's involvement
in the issue. " To do it without the support
of many of the states, not only is it inappropriate
but it's disrespecting the opinion of the states
across the country. I would hope they would take
states' thoughts into consideration before they do
anything. "
Time is of the essence
In the meantime, trans student athletes try to
keep their focus and perspective.
Although the process she must go through to
play softball is hard on her, Ember can't imagine
her life without the sport. Her team is her community,
and she's in love with the adrenaline that
comes with playing as a catcher.
" Even though it causes stress and anxiety, without
softball I would just be way more stressed and
anxious over the entire school year, " she said. " It's
the ability to not think about life for a few hours. "
Ember, along with Rebekah and Kotler-Berkowitz,
is keeping her eyes on the Education Department
as it plans to draft new rules for trans youth
participation in sports.
They'd like to see the department focus on listening
to trans voices, and talking to doctors, athletic
directors, and coaches as it develops proposals.
Most of all, they'd like to see action, and they'd
like to see it soon.
In the meantime, they plan to focus on advocacy
in between classes, practice, and clubs. Last
year, Ember participated in the #OhioCanPlay
campaign with Equality Ohio, an LGBTQ rights
organization based in Columbus, in which she and
her mother shared their story. She regularly meets
with lawmakers in her state to discuss the implications
of restrictive laws.
Rebekah and Kotler-Berkowitz are both GenderCool
Champions, which means they've shared
their story to help dispel misconceptions about
transgender people.
" We're not scary, we're not trying to disrupt
other sports, " Kotler-Berkowitz said. " We're really,
really just trying to play like other kids. "
EDUCATION WEEK | September 21, 2022 | www.edweek.org | 15
Photos, clockwise from top: Courtesy Minna (Ember), Courtesy Jamie Bruesehoff/GenderCool (Rebekah), Angela Rowlings for Education Week (Sivan)

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Education Week - September 21, 2022

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