Athlete Ally Responds to Texas Anti-Trans Sports Bill
October 26, 2021 (New York, NY) — Athlete Ally responded today to news that last night, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law discriminatory legislation banning transgender youth from participating in sports. With this bill, Texas becomes the 10th state to ban transgender athletes from participating on sports teams that align with their gender identity, and the 9th this year.
The bill is just one of over 50 bills targeting transgender individuals in Texas in the last year, many aimed directly at transgender youth. Meanwhile, crisis contacts to the Trevor Project and TransLifeLine from youth in Texas increased by 150% during 2021 compared to the same period last year. 36% of those crisis contacts came from transgender and non-binary youth.
“My heart is breaking all over again for our communities in Texas who have been tirelessly and fiercely fighting anti-transgender legislation session after session,” said Anne Lieberman, Director of Policy & Programs at Athlete Ally, in a quote to ESPN. “HB25 is yet another callous example of lawmakers passing legislation that bullies and targets kids who just want to play sports with their friends, even in the face of hundreds of people coming out to testify against the bill and to articulate the harm it is doing to Texans.”