The debate over transgender athletes being allowed to participate on the team of their choice is heating up. This article tells my story as a trans athlete and coach alongside some historical perspective of gender intertwined with sports from nearly a century ago.
Writing in the age of COVID-19
It is impossible to predict anything right now. Questions about the future of our country, the economy, the public health - they all can't be answered beyond what is happening today. This is why I have to take each day as a new opportunity to determine what I can control today. One of the ways to do that is through writing. It helps me to focus on what I am passionate about. I can hone the message I have about creating a more inclusive world for gender diverse people in sports.
It's hard, however, to forget that all sports are currently on hold. The very thing that gave me purpose, hope and sanity as a gender diverse kid is now not available during this crisis. It’s hard to not feel like sports is just a trivial activity when our country has over 80,000 deaths and climbing.
But, then I remember how powerful it is to be a part of a team. The sense of belonging and community is healing. Those aspects are still with every athlete and coach even though we can’t be on the field together. I would argue that is is precisely the experiences of being an athlete or coach that has given our sports community the ability to endure this time. There will always be challenges, tragedies and crisis in our world, but when we rely on each other and our collective skills we are far more likely to emerge stronger on the other side.
Changing the US Men's Soccer Status Quo
I wrote this story after the US Men’s National Soccer Team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup tournament in Russia. As the Founding Executive Director of Portland Community Football Club I have personally seen so many young players from marginalized communities excel at soccer, but due to the extreme financial and resource demands that most large competitive soccer clubs require these kids miss out on the quality training that is required to even have a small chance to make it to the big stage. PCFC is a club that is changing that status quo. In this story I write about how PCFC is doing that and how it could be replicated across the country.
