Hi all, I'm trying to figure out who I am at the moment. I think I might be a boy born in the wrong body. Anyhow...I was wondering if trans men are allowed to play football? Is there some sort of discrimination for that? What if you've had top surgery? :-\
Hmm. I assume it would depend on your legal status. But there might also be covert discrimination to deal with.
depends where you are. Different leagues and associations have different rules depending on what equal opportunity legislation covers the state or country they are in.
I live in West Virginia so if I went up to the coach of the football team at my school and said "Can I play?" he would laugh his ass off and say "Girls can't play football here unless there are a bunch of girls who want to make a girls team." so I'll never play on a football team but I signed up for the girls lacross team :(
Legally speaking because of Title Six ... unless they offer a girls football team .. they have to let girls play ... now if your trans and are seeing a therapist and have started transitioning ... I would imagine between your therapist & your parents you could get the coach to let you on the team
There are a few girls playing HS ball in the US, and even a few (kickers mostly) in NCAA Division II schools.
Maybe. At the high end (professional sports, Olympics and other world-class amateur competitions) women are formally allowed to compete in men's leagues and events; there have been female NCAA and I think NFL kickers. I believe trans men are also formally allowed but if on hormones need an exemption/special review under the anti-doping guidelines. It's extraordinarily rare for women to play at this level though because of biological disadvantages and disadvantages in training opportunities; trans men might be at less of a disadvantage, but if there are any world class transitioned trans male athletes in men's divisions, I have yet to hear of them.
At lower levels, it sort of depends. Girls have successfully sued to be allowed to play on boys' teams, and some boys' teams now allow it (I played baseball as a "girl," and there was a girl on my school's wrestling team), but others either are misinformed about the law and concerned about liability for injuries or simply plan to go on discriminating until somebody sues to make them stop.
Trans boys who are legally female are mostly protected under the same statutes that protect girls, so you might as well ask the coach. If he says no, then you can decide whether you want to consider threatening legal action, if your parents would back you up.
However, I suspect that under some readings of the law trans boys/men who are legally male might not be protected because it's discrimination on account of trans status, which is legal, rather than on account of sex, which is not. Regardless, there's no harm in trying.
There is nothing in the NFL rule book about gender, but to date no woman has ever played for an NFL team. There has never even been one in training camp.