By Bri Schmidt, Program Associate, Silver State Equality

Amidst numerous attacks on trans individuals like me who simply want to live our lives as our true selves, the latest battle of the constant culture wars has focused on our ability to participate in sports. While we make up a small portion of the general population and an even smaller portion of professional athletes, policymakers, legislators, and anti-LGBTQ+ activist groups are campaigning to erase our existence in sports from a variety of angles. From the Lieutenant Governor’s task force to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s (NIAA) policy change, a small but vocal minority of Nevadans are wasting government time, resources, and dollars to focus on a non-issue.

Make no mistake, this debate is not unique to Nevada— legislators across the country are working to ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports. However, it’s been shown time and time again that these legislators can’t even find examples of trans athletes in their state. Less than 0.002% of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes are trans.

Bri Schmidt, Program Associate, Silver State Equality

“How many athletes are there in the U.S. in NCAA schools?” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) asked Baker during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing […]

“Five hundred and ten thousand,” said Baker, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts who has served since 2023 as president of the NCAA, which governs intercollegiate athletics at more than 1,000 colleges and universities nationwide.

“How many transgender athletes are you aware of?” Durbin asked.

“Less than 10,” Baker said. He did not say whether that number includes transgender men.

A quote from a congressional hearing back in December. (NCAA president says there are ‘less than 10’ transgender athletes in college sports)

And yet, Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony saw fit to spend valuable time, money, and effort leading up to the Nevada legislative session to establish a “task force” to block transgender athletes from competing with their cisgender counterparts. These resources that could be directed to support girls’ athletics by generating more funding, hiring women coaches, investing in newer equipment, and offering clinics or training sessions are instead being wasted on this non-issue.

This made-up problem is not just a distraction from real issues impacting everyday Nevadans— it has been demonstrated to negatively affect LGBTQ+ youth. The Trevor Project’s polling analysis from 2022 shows that more than 80% of transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse youth experience negative mental health effects from the constant debates on state laws restricting the rights of transgender people. Children in Nevada are not being harmed by what-ifs about trans athletes— they are being harmed by constant debates that ask the question: should trans people be allowed to exist?

Transgender children, cisgender children, and anyone in between all deserve access to the skills that sports can teach. Teamwork, leadership, positive self-esteem, and self-discipline are all noted outcomes of sports for school-aged children. Many students, regardless of gender identity, seek out sports as a way of connecting with classmates and having fun. No child should have to choose between being themselves and participating in sports with their peers. Transgender youth are not seeking complete and perfect understanding from policymakers and decision makers for their gender identity; they are simply asking to be given the same respect as their peers and to be granted the opportunity to play in sports according to their gender identity without having to fight for their right to exist.

In an extremely disappointing decision, the NIAA decided to go back on their trans-inclusive policy of ten years at an April 2025 board meeting. This updated policy states that “only sex, and not gender identity or expression, can be considered a relevant characteristic for eligibility on a girls’ or women’s team or sanctioned sport.” This policy blatantly disregards the existence of intersex individuals (individuals whose bodies at birth do not fit neatly into categories of ‘male’ or ‘female’ due to variations in chromosomes, genitalia, or any other combination of sex characteristics). The reversal of this existing policy does not just harm trans girls in Nevada— it can lead to harm for cisgender girls who seek to participate in sports, too. When we look at the data from the Center for American Progress, it’s been demonstrated that states with trans-exclusive policies have decreased participation among girls in sports; in states that are fully trans-inclusive with their sports policies, girls’ participation has remained static from 2011 to 2019.

Trans children, cis children, athletes, non-athletes: all Nevadans deserve the opportunity to live as their authentic selves. Our children deserve to participate in school sports without having to jump through hoops to “prove” their gender or sacrifice their self-expression. The majority of transgender youth, just like most kids, don’t seek athletics at an elite level: they are simply looking for a fun way to relieve stress and learn teamwork skills with friends. Every child deserves to be able to make friends and participate in activities like team sports that help them stay healthy and happy.

Let the NIAA know that their policy change is NOT what Nevadans want. Write a letter to the association letting them know that transgender youth deserve to play in sports without exclusion or discrimination. Find the athletes in your life and encourage them to write in and ask the NIAA to go back to the trans-inclusive policy that has worked just fine for the past ten years.

Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association
1188 Victorian Plaza Circle
Sparks, Nevada 89431
Phone (775) 453-1012
Fax (775) 453-1016

Pamela Sloan, President, Director of Student Athletics & Activities
Email: [email protected]

Rollins Stallworth, Vice President, Coordinator of Student Activities & Athletics
Email: [email protected]

This article was originally published in the 2025 Sports & Recreation Issue of Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine, and can be read in its original format here.