[link removed]

FAIR
View article on FAIR's website ([link removed])
Once Again, NYT Coverage of Anti-Trans Attacks Leaves Out Trans Voices Olivia Riggio ([link removed])


NYT: Justice Department Investigates California Over Trans Athlete Policies

The New York Times (5/28/25 ([link removed]) ) gave the last word to a Trump official who framed trans participation in high school sports as "violating women’s civil rights.”

California public schools are the latest target of Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which is ramping up an investigation into high school sports after a transgender girl qualified for three track and field events at the upcoming state championships.

The DoJ is alleging that the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) allowing transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports could violate Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

The New York Times (5/28/25 ([link removed]) ) covered this latest right-wing attack on trans youth in a fashion all too common for the paper (FAIR.org, 5/11/23 ([link removed]) ): devoid of any perspectives from trans individuals.

The article, by Soumya Karlamangla, quoted four government officials who are against the participation of trans girls in girls sports. After quoting Trump demanding that "local authorities" bar the trans athlete's participation, the paper turned to Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, who said in a statement, “It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies.” The Times left this claim unchallenged, despite its inflammatory and misgendering language.

It quoted Gov. Gavin Newsom, speaking on his podcast (3/6/25 ([link removed]) ) to far-right influencer Charlie Kirk, calling trans athletes’ participation in female sports “deeply unfair.” And it quoted Bill Essayli, US attorney for the Central District of California, asserting in a statement that “discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal and immoral”—by which he means that including trans female athletes discriminates against other women, and seeks to deny that discrimination against trans athletes is sex discrimination ([link removed]) .

The Times made no effort to evaluate Essayli's claim—for instance, by noting that courts have interpreted ([link removed]) Title IX preventing discrimination “on the basis of sex” to also protect trans students.

Against these four anti–trans rights sources, the piece cited only one statement from a coalition of LGBTQ advocates, which pointed out that sports organizations were following "inclusive, evidence-based policies that ensure fairness for all athletes, regardless of their gender identity." The coalition argued: "Undermining that now for political gain is a transparent attempt to scapegoat a child and distract from real national challenges Americans are facing."


** Physical and mental health benefits
------------------------------------------------------------
Defector: It’s A Great Time To Be A Pathetic Loser

"I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person,” said AB Hernandez, the 16-year-old transgender athlete, referring to the people who "spent hours heckling and harassing Hernandez as she competed" (Defector, 5/28/25 ([link removed]) ).

Including the voices of trans athletes and their families, or of more rights advocates, might have introduced readers to some of the many arguments and evidence that exist in support of allowing trans athletes to compete in alignment with their identities.

Gender nonconforming people are already at heightened risk for suicide, according to a 2020 study ([link removed]) . Eighty-six percent of trans youth have considered killing themselves. School belonging, emotional neglect by family, and internalized self-stigma made statistically significant contributions to recent suicidality in this population. Furthermore, a study in the journal Nature (9/26/24 ([link removed]) ) found that state-level anti-transgender laws increased suicide attempts by transgender and nonbinary youth.

Meanwhile, playing school sports confers physical and mental health benefits that should not be denied to trans children. The Human Rights Campaign’s analysis ([link removed]) of the 2023 LGBTQ+ Youth survey ([link removed]) , by HRC and the University of Connecticut, found that

high school-aged transgender and non-binary student athletes reported higher grades, lower levels of depression, and were less likely to feel unsafe at school than those who did not play sports.


** Not biological men
------------------------------------------------------------
Ohio Capital Journal: GOP passes bill aiming to root out ‘suspected’ transgender female athletes with genital inspection

Ohio Capital Journal (6/3/22 ([link removed]) ) noted that a proposed state ban on trans athletes was accompanied by intrusive verification requirements: "If someone is suspected to be transgender, she must go through evaluations of her external and internal genitalia, testosterone levels and genetic makeup."

The idea that cisgender boys will “pretend” to be trans in order to participate in girls’ sports is preposterous. Not to mention, natural variations, both physical and otherwise, are common in all sports—especially in schools where children are growing rapidly at different paces (HRC ([link removed]) ). It’s a combination of factors—not just one—that determine athleticism.

In 2024, the Times (4/23/24 ([link removed]) ) reported on a study by the International Olympic Committee that found that while trans women displayed an advantage in handgrip strength over their cisgender counterparts, they are actually weaker in other areas, like jumping ability, cardiovascular fitness and lung function. The main point of the study was that, when it comes to athletics, trans women are not biological men.

Bans on transgender athletes participating in girls’ sports also put cisgender girls at risk. For example, in 2022, House Republicans in Ohio passed a bill banning trans girls from girls’ sports. It includes genital inspection for any girl who is “accused” of being trans (Ohio Capital Journal, 6/3/22 ([link removed]) ). Cisgender athletes are frequently accused of being trans by transphobes claiming to “protect” women (FAIR.org, 8/21/09 ([link removed]) ; Extra!, 10/12 ([link removed]) ).

During the 2024 summer Olympics, Algerian boxing champion Imane Khelif, who is a cisgender woman, was accused of being male. Now World Boxing has announced all athletes must undergo mandatory genetic testing to determine their sex (CNN,5/30/25 ([link removed]) ).

The Times’ framing, which allowed adult politicians and attorneys ([link removed]) to smear already vulnerable trans children as predatory, “perverse” and invasive, without any perspectives from actual transgender people, let alone any proper legal arguments in their favor, fell short of even “both-sidesing” the issue.

As journalist and activist Erin Reed said recently on CounterSpin (5/23/25 ([link removed]) ):

"Both sides” coverage and “the truth is in the middle” coverage and “giving both sides a chance to make their point”—that would be an improvement over what we have right now…. This is not even “both sides” reporting. It’s not even “the truth is in the middle” reporting. These papers have taken a position on this, and it’s a position that’s not supported by the science.

------------------------------------------------------------

FEATURED IMAGE: AB Hernandez, the 16-year-old Californian at the center of a debate about trans youth participation in sports (Capital & Main, 5/15/25 ([link removed]) ).

ACTION ALERT: You can send a message to the New York Times at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or via Bluesky: @NYTimes.com ([link removed]) . Please remember that respectful communication is the most effective. Feel free to leave a copy of your message in the comments thread here.


Read more ([link removed])

Share this post: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Twitter"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Twitter" alt="Twitter" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Facebook"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Facebook" alt="Facebook" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Pinterest"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Pinterest" alt="Pinterest" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="LinkedIn"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="LinkedIn" alt="LinkedIn" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Google Plus"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Google Plus" alt="Google Plus" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Instapaper"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Instapaper" alt="Instapaper" class="mc-share"></a>
​

© 2021 Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up for email alerts from
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

Our mailing address is:
FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING
124 W. 30th Street, Suite 201
New York, NY 10001

FAIR's Website ([link removed])

FAIR counts on your support to do this work — please donate today ([link removed]) .

Follow us on Twitter ([link removed]) | Friend us on Facebook ([link removed])

change your preferences ([link removed])
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]
unsubscribe ([link removed]) .