With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Sports Historian Victoria Jackson: Trans Bans in Sports Part of History of Suspicion toward Women's Sports

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is defending a state law that bans transgender athletes from competing on school teams that differ from the gender they were assigned at birth.

Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, refused to defend the law when it was challenged by a suit from the parents of two transgender girls. 

At a press conference, Horne said it’s a matter of fairness — and it’s unfair for biological boys to compete against girls in sports.

But ASU sports historian Victoria Jackson says that the issue of transgender athletes in sports is much less black-and-white than that.

Jackson joined The Show to explain just how far back in sports history this issue can be traced.

Click through to source to listen to audio

Read entire article at KJZZ