Trans Day of Visibility basketball tournament creates space for trans athletes amid international sports banshttps://chicago.suntimes.com/lgbtq/2026/03/29/basketball-tournament-makes-space-for-trans-athletes-amid-international-sports-bans 🔗Violet Miller (29 March 2026)
Keinan Carpenter always dreamed of playing professional basketball.
When Carpenter, founder of the Trans Masculine Alliance Sports Club, started transitioning at 22, he kept playing women's basketball and flag football, and found inclusion, though he still faced misgendering, among other issues.
But on Sunday, teams of all genders and ages took to the courts for a three-versus-three basketball tournament held ahead of Tuesday's International Transgender Day of Visibility.
It was the first of its kind for Carpenter and Mars Contino, an organizer with WNBGAY, who put the event together as a way to combat the exclusion they and other trans people have faced in sports.
"We shouldn't have to sacrifice our identity to be included," said Carpenter, 25. "If I can't play professionally, how can I make a space that's professional athletics for queer and trans people? So that's the goal, there's no limit, there's no 'I can't' — let me just make the space."
The court, split into competitive and recreational sides, pitted players against each other for 15-minute matchups. Carpenter and Contino first met three weeks ago and worked to coordinate their groups to make the tournament happen.
Supportive cheers filled the gaps between sneaker squeaks and the sound of the ball hitting the Center on Halsted's hardwood gym floor.
