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Two wrestlers in blue and red. (Shutterstock/Roka pics)
3:03 PM 02/25/2018
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A Texas, transitioning, teen transgender wrestler won her second state title Saturday, which sparked further concern among parents and competitors over the competition’s fairness.
Trinity High School senior Mack Beggs won the Texas girls’ Class 6A, 110-pound-division state title for the second consecutive year Saturday, beating Chelsea Sanchez, who she also beat in 2017, to win the title. Beggs entered the state championship with a 32-0 undefeated record.
Beggs is biologically female but started taking hormones when she was 15 years old, prompting many parents and competitors to raise concerns about the fairness of competition because she was competing against female athletes not taking hormones, according to Fox6Now. Beggs’s public criticism began when a female wrestler’s father filed a lawsuit in 2017 in an attempt to prevent Beggs from competing against other girls, alleging her artificially elevated testosterone levels are unfair.
NCAA, USA Wrestling and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency rules classify Beggs as male, however, because she exceeds the range of acceptable testosterone levels for females, according to Fox4 News.
No law compels Beggs to update her birth certificate; but despite her statements that she wishes to compete against boys, she has not changed her birth certificate so she may do so. University Interscholastic League (UIL) deputy director Jamie Harrison said the League is willing to consider making an exception to competition rules if asked, but UIL has not received a request from the Beggs, according to Fox4 News.
Beggs’s family has been extremely supportive of her transition and of her simultaneous wrestling activities. “We’re proud of [her] because [she’s] come so far,” Mack’s grandmother, Nancy Beggs, told Fox6Now. “Everything about [her] has changed,” she added.
Beggs refused interviews after her state-championship win.
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