A Montanan’s Solution to Trans Athletes: the Asterisk*

Last Monday morning I played about with Nyx the kitten, letting random thoughts wander through.  This one came out of nowhere and my first reaction was "Surely someone else thought of this idea before I did."  Most probably Tim in Billings had this same idea long ago.

With all the fuss over biological male athletes transitioning to female and competing in women's sports, overpowering any competition and even physically hurting girls in play, perhaps a good remedy dates back only a few years ago.

Remember the scandal over steroids and performance enhancing drugs used my Major League Baseball players in the late 90s?  Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds?  They broke home run records and gained national attention.  Then the PEDs in them came to light.  If I remember right, their records stood but had included an asterisk, indicating a footnote that the player was juicing himself.  Even into the new millennium, ball players have a "perceived" asterisk that taints whatever accomplishments they have on the field or at bat.

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What if athletic competitions and records used the same asterisk for trans men?  An asterisk that indicates "This athlete was a biological male who transitioned or is transitioning to female."  Or maybe it can indicate "received performance enhancing genetics."

Lia Thomas can have all the swimming medals, records and accolades, with asterisks.  Juniper "June" Eastwood from the University of Montana can have all the track and cross-country records, and she can give her compelling story, with asterisks.  Once established, the asterisk won't even need a footnote explanation.  Everybody will know and understand that the lady was once a male.

Plaques and women's sports record books can discreetly include the asterisk.  A listing of competitors or players on a team can include an asterisk for any trans athlete.  Articles about women's sports can daintily insert the itty-bitty star when referring to certain participants.

The trans athletes will lose none of their access to women's competitions, will keep all the awards and records, and won't lose any attention or recognition.

Biological women should be happier.  Riley Gaines can claim it took a lady with an asterisk to out-swim her.  Girls can cheer when they outperform a competitor with an asterisk.

Now I can hear the complaint.  "This is stigmatizing!  It's a violation of our right of privacy!"  The rebuttal is simply to refer back to steroids, PED and baseball.  What's the difference?

"Well, they cheated!!"

Repeating myself, so what is the difference between performance-enhancing drugs and performance-enhancing genetics?