Readers Write: Trans athletes, lessons from high school sports, the state auditor

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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It’s a rare morning that I read commentary from contributing columnist Andy Brehm and am anything but annoyed. Until today, I believe there was only one time when he and I were on the same page about anything. Last week, however, I found a point of agreement and a point of disagreement (“The issue over trans students’ participation in sports is simply about fairness,” Strib Voices, Oct. 20).

Like Brehm, I believe that males who are well into puberty should not compete in women’s sports. He lists the advantages in speed, strength and endurance that males gain as they go through puberty. It doesn’t seem that these “biological realities” are in dispute.

I part ways with Brehm when it comes to locker room access. He states that it’s wrong to force women to share locker rooms with transgender women. Transgender women are exactly that: women. Looking at it from another direction, it’s pretty plain that transgender women should not be forced to share locker rooms with men.

This is a gnarly issue. And I’m kind of bracing myself for some nasty comments if this letter is published. At this point, I have to give credit to artificial intelligence, which states “This is a complicated and sensitive topic with lots of layers — biological, ethical and social.”

Mary Scott, Bloomington

Brehm claims the Trump administration’s desire to exclude trans athletes is correct. The science appears to suggest that while you can eliminate some of the advantage of the male-to-female transitioning athlete, you cannot eliminate all of the advantage. This leads one to believe that such athletes shouldn’t participate in girls’ sports. Unfortunately there is no discussion about how we create opportunities for such athletes to participate in sports, and some are creating physical examination requirements for participating in girls’ and women’s sports while there are no such additional requirements for participating in boys’ and men’s sports. Foregoing such considerations while claiming he is interested in fairness leads me to conclude that your columnist is not interested in the many factors in need of consideration as we contemplate how best to include such athletes in athletics.

Robert Waterman, St. Paul

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So Brehm sincerely believes that millions of Minnesota female high school athletes are being discriminated against by a handful of transgender girls.

Hey, wait a minute — just who is discriminating against whom?!

Trump has already forced trans military personnel out of the armed forces. In multiple Republican states, trans individuals may only use public bathrooms matching their biology at birth; and, in those same states, health access to transgender drugs has become limited or impossible to receive. Some Republican state legislatures are considering housing trans inmates in prisons matching their biological birth sex. And, after the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, several Republican politicians have suggested that the right to own guns be outlawed for trans individuals.

Over 50 years ago, didn’t many of us fight against the persecution and bias of a different group of “second-class” American citizens, the blatant prejudice of which reflected the shame and hypocrisy of the phrase “the land of the free”?

Have we changed so much in 50 years? Have we become so uncaring for yet another group that is most vulnerable among us? And how could we have become so easily manipulated by a handful of despicable and loathsome politicians?

Enough is enough — let’s stop hiding behind what Republicans like Brehm believe is “fair” and call out this obvious discrimination against trans individuals by its real name: It is hatred. Simply hatred.

And it needs to stop. Now.

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Brehm says that boys who transition to become girls should not be allowed to compete with girls in Minnesota high school athletic activities. He presents valid reasons that support his belief. But the key to his position can be found in the headline above his writing. The headline contains the word “fairness.” Having many years ago coached high school girls track, I recall how much bigger, stronger and faster the boys were as these athletes practiced side by side each afternoon. Medical science indicates to us that even after transitioning, boys maintain much of what makes them bigger, faster and stronger. For that reason, the fairness factor has to be the boss when determining if transitioned boys should be allowed to compete against girls. It is simply not fair for a girl to compete against a boy who has transitioned and changed his gender identity.

George Larson, Brooklyn Park

After reading the article about the Lakeville North girls hockey coach nearly losing his job, I was stunned at both the actions of the parents and the school administrators in this situation (“Lakeville North girls hockey players stand up to save coach’s job,” Oct. 19). High school sports teach young people numerous life lessons that are valuable for the rest of their life, long after they are done playing hockey. Unfortunately, parents and school administrators alike seem intent on interrupting these lessons before they can be learned.

For example, the article mentions that parents were upset about which group messaging platform was used? In the real world, some people use email, some text and some only communicate via telephone. In business, you don’t get to choose; instead you must adapt. Another example given was that a parent was upset their daughter dressed for a varsity game but did not get to play? Just wait until your daughter interviews for a job and never hears back from that company. That is real world “false hope.” These ridiculous examples cited in the article are just a couple of the numerous things high school coaches have to deal with from parents.

Mark Vitelli, Roseville

A column last Sunday details how former Gov. Arne Carlson is asking where State Auditor Julie Blaha is and suggests the state auditor should be “sniffing out mischief before it metastasizes” (“An Arne Carlson email missed its mark but not the message,” Strib Voices, Oct. 19). Well, maybe Carlson doesn’t see her because she is doing exactly that. Blaha’s whole deal is prevention, which doesn’t get much as attention as calling out problems after the fact. She doesn’t spend her time making headlines — she’s too busy trying to keep local governments out of them.

Jim Reinitz, Minnetonka

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Ironic that Carlson is upset that the state auditor isn’t interfering with a legal, transparent local decision. Politically motivated overreach is exactly the kind of distraction that keeps us from finding actual fraud. I am glad Blaha has the discipline to focus on her actual job.