Salt Lake City –
A Utah high school athletics association was secretly investigating an athlete — without telling her or her parents — after receiving complaints from the parents of two girls she defeated in competition, in which they questioned whether the girl be transgender.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Utah High School Activities Association and the girl’s high school determined she was, in fact, female after combing through school records from kindergarten.
Association spokesman David Spatafore told lawmakers that the girl and her family were not informed of the investigation to avoid embarrassment and “to keep the matter private,” the Tribune reported Thursday.
The revelation comes as at least 12 Republican-led states – including Utah – have passed legislation banning transgender women or girls from sports. Proponents of the bans say transgender girls have an unfair advantage because they were born stronger men and girls could be denied spots on sports teams.
There have been almost no instances of potential competitive advantage in the sport of K-12 in states that passed the bans, including Utah. His ban is being challenged in a state court.
Spatafore said at a hearing on transgender athletes on Wednesday that the parents of second- and third-place finishers at a competition last year filed a complaint with the federation after the girl won first place “by a wide margin” at an event , the Tribune said.
The girl’s school checked her high school record and found that she was registered as a woman. The Utah High School Association asked the school to “check twice,” Spatafore said, and officials contacted their middle and elementary schools to review the files.
“School went back to kindergarten,” Spatafore said, “and she was always a woman.”
Spatafore refused to reveal the student’s class, school or sport to protect her identity. He said nothing was said to the student and her family because it could be offensive to them and that the parents had been contacted “if necessary”.
Spatafore said the association was investigating other complaints involving transgender athletes to comply with Utah law, which went into effect in July. Some complaints include “when an athlete doesn’t look feminine enough,” he said. None of the complaints have been verified.
Lawmakers did not question the process during the hearing, the Tribune reported.
Before the ban, Utah had a registered transgender athlete on a high school girls’ team last year, Spatafore said.
In a lawsuit, three transgender girls and their parents allege that the ban passed by Utah’s Republican-majority legislature erroneously barred their children from participating in the sports. Her lawyers argue it violates provisions of the state constitution that prohibit discrimination and guarantee equal rights and a fair trial.