Lucy. wrote:
The Connecticut case is not a stunt to the girls it effected. Just because you don’t like who is backing the case doesn’t mean it isn’t valid.
If you were the father your message to your daughter is don’t stand up for what is right because it might be uncomfortable. It is better to just blend in and do nothing of consequence. Might as well tell your gay son to stay in the closet because it will be easier as well.
I still don’t understand the whole move the needle position. Cutting marathon courses on bikes isn’t very common. When it does happen it is ok to condemn it and correct the results though. We don’t just say no big deal, it rarely happens, let’s let is stand.
Connecticut made the decision that it would follow the court decision many years ago that not letting transgender females compete would be a violation of their human rights and believed it was impractical to require a HS kid to receive hormone treatment. It was their right to make that decision. That there was 2 transgender athletes in Connecticut, was an extreme outlier. Why would Connecticut make rules that could be challenged to prevent a situation that had such a minimal chance of occurring? Yeah, it did end up happening, but probably never again in a relatively small state. California has the same rules and a far larger population, but it hasn't been an issue here.
The lawsuit is a joke. Soule did not lose a scholarship; just a chance to run a heat at the Tri-States. Maybe that's a big deal to you but it won't be to a judge. Her recent video was ridiculous and no serious plaintiff would make one like that. It gives the strong impression that she really enjoys having become a mini-celebrity and no judge is going to see it and have sympathy for her. She is not standing up to something uncomfortable; she seems to be enjoying it instead. The damage to Soule just wasn't that significant; she wasn't a top sprinter, there was nothing she could do about it and she should have just moved on.
Coming out as a gay in HS, just wasn't an option when I was in HS, and if one did so, he would suffered awful harassment and maybe even violence. According to my HS daughter, people are now generally indifferent to someone being openly gay, but the reaction to someone transgendering would be similar to '70s reaction to a gay student. As a father, I wouldn't worry about son being bullied if he was gay but I would really want him to wait until college to transgender.
I don't know why you're using Meza as an example. In regard to the Connecticut sprinters there were no rules to enforce. Meza did break the rules and was disqualified and then banned at CIM and although the L.A. Marathon knew Meza was a cheater, it let him continue to cheat. It's an absolute tragedy what happened to him. After CIM, he should have been banned permanently from running in any sizable marathon, instead of being allowed to cheat until he became a target for LR. It's sad that the resulting intense public humiliation ultimately drove him to suicide.