Angel Flores is a prominent voice in the sporting community and a multisport athlete herself. As a transgender athlete, she recently talked about the pressing issues they confront.
Flores told USA TODAY: “All athletes need that good mental game to keep things in check. I don’t see how a trans athlete can have a good mental game with everything that’s going on with the news, with waking up every morning and seeing another bill dropped, another law passed, another person has been persecuted, or jailed, or assaulted, or killed.”
Transgender athletes are prohibited by law from competing for teams or divisions that correspond to their gender identity in a number of states. Other regions of the nation have seen the introduction of legislation or laws similar to these.
Although deemed unfair by the trans community, these restrictions are put in place in order to maintain fair play.
Athletes like Flores have stated their desire to debunk what they perceive are “myths.” Flores remarked that those advocating for the outlawing of transgender sports sometimes point to trans athletes’ unfair advantage as a result of hormone treatment.
According to Flores, it is untrue. She and other trans athletes claim that Hormone Replacement Therapy does not guarantee athletic superiority. Success in sports may also be attributed to other causes, such as better mental health after HRT.
Flores’ claims do not appear to be true as according to the British Journal of Sports Medicine website, “In transwomen, hormone therapy rapidly reduces Hgb to levels seen in cisgender women. In contrast, hormone therapy decreases strength, LBM and muscle area, yet values remain above that observed in cisgender women, even after 36 months. These findings suggest that strength may be well preserved in transwomen during the first 3 years of hormone therapy.”
Whether athletes like Flores want to admit it or not, transgender athletes do have an unfair competitive edge in women’s sports.