Veronica Garcia is a grade twelve trans athlete who competes for Tumwater High School in Spokane Wash. She runs both cross country and track and field. During last year’s academic year, she competed at the state level for the 400 meter dash, where she placed first. Garcia also joined the girls 4×4 team, as they took home the third place trophy – against her teammates wishes.

“Keep Women’s Sports Female” read the 4×4 team’s shirts, in response to Garcia’s presence at the day’s events. During her runs, the teen was also met with a myriad of “boos” and discouraging comments. Upon her acceptance of her first place titleship, a voice in the crowd shouted, “She’s not even a girl!” The irony of their usage of “she” lost in translation. 

Through this, Garcia kept her head held high. Since Garcia’s win, controversy has risen across Washington state. Even catching the attention of large online personalities including anti-trans activist Riley Gaines. The tone and rhetoric used by opponents of trans athletes centers around questions such as: ‘are women’s sports safe from trans women?’

The answer is more complicated than you think. Research on whether or not trans athletes perform higher than their biological female counterparts has been done a multitude of times. Every study shows different results, or contradicting ones at that. All of these studies, and anti-trans statements don’t just affect trans women. 

Time has shown that anti-trans sentiment affects all ranges of women. Commentators involved tend to create a mold of the ‘ideal looking woman’. As best exemplified in the public treatment of Imane Khelif, an Algerian Boxer who competed at the Summer 2024 Olympics. Due to her physical appearance, she was accused of being trans after she beat Italian boxer Angela Carini, causing the global boxing federation to request gender testing from the athlete.   

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), is a nonprofit organization that creates sporting standards for virtually all state high schools. Their handbook states that all students should have the opportunity to participate in WIAA athletics or activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity. Meaning trans athletes have every right to compete with the gender they identify as, and compete in that field. 

Currently there are 500 known transgender athletes that compete in the US at collegiate levels. That is 0.092% of all college level athletes. There is no evidence trans women are competing in women’s sports to steal from women, or hurt women. 

Trans women are competing against women because they are women. Most trans athletes who are competing are on hormones – they are not these men, or women, who decide one day to compete against a gender where they have a genetic advantage over. 

When it comes to Garcia, she is not discouraged from upholding her spot on the team. “One thing that Martin Luther King always pointed out is that you have to do what’s right,” Garcia said. “Even if there comes risk, you still have to do what’s right.”