IMAGE: Courtesy Green Bay Area Public School District.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — It appears a trans athlete will be allowed to participate on a female high school sports team in Green Bay this fall, as long as Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association guidelines are met.
Parents say that is what Abby Tilkens, the Title IX coordinator for Green Bay’s school district, told them in a private meeting Thursday night. The meeting was scheduled as parents voiced concerns about the athlete’s participation.
For confidentiality reasons, the school or sport involved will not be named.
Some Green Bay parents say they were disappointed with what they heard during the meeting, which they say included about 40 to 50 athletes and their parents.
“We were hoping to hear a little bit more of both sides of the compass, but it was really one-sided: this is the WIAA, this is Title IX, if the girls have issues they can find counseling and life goes on,” said Ryan Guisck, a concerned parent.
Gusick and other parents say their daughters won’t be at tryouts on Monday, citing concerns over physical safety and potentially sharing locker rooms and bathrooms with the trans student.
District policy allows trans students to use the facilities they identify with.
“The girls are just kind of fed up hearing that ‘your safety is our top concern’ from all these people and they’re really doing nothing about it,” said Gusick.
Kathy Heath and Kiana Pamanet say they believe a majority of athletes support the trans student. They believe concerns are mostly coming from parents.
“We just wanted it to be out there that there are other students and athletes that are in support of her,” said Heath.
“If they’re not comfortable with it, it’s on them if they want to play the sport still and still want to win games, that is completely up to them,” said Pamanet.
The WIAA has had a three-page policy for transgender athletes since 2015, according to WIAA Director of Communications Todd Clark.
The policy states its goals are equity, physical safety, and competitive equity.
It states, “a student’s member school will be the point of contact for determining the student’s eligibility to participate in WIAA sponsored interscholastic athletics.”
The policy also states “a male-to-female transgender student must have one calendar year of medically documented testosterone suppression therapy to be eligible to participate on a female team.”
“We were told as long as they meet the protocol or procedures in place from the WIAA, the athlete will be participating this fall and that is how things will go,” said Gusick.
“What did happen in there (the private meeting), they were kind of coming at her (the trans student) a bit, but then they also know we aren’t talking about that, we’re talking about WIAA and their rules,” said Pamanet.
The school district has confirmed it will follow school board and WIAA policies.
A statement from the district reads, “We care about the well-being of every student. All decisions regarding a student’s ability to participate in co-curricular athletics/activities are made in accordance with Title IX law, Board policy, and WIAA regulations.”
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