A high school in Connecticut has accepted a new boy on their track team. Except, he won’t be going to the boys track team, he’ll be going to the girls team.
Andraya Yearwood, a freshman and biological male from Cromwell High School in Connecticut, identifies as a girl and recently received permission to join the girls track team after competing as a boy in middle school. Not surprisingly, Yearwood has been extremely successful as a male competing against females.
According to the Hartford Courant, “Andraya’s times in the 100 and the 200 are fast. A year ago, her 11.99 in the 100 would have won the Class M title and put her second at the State Open, .01 seconds behind the winning time. And Andraya ran Wednesday in cold conditions, and without starting blocks. She is expected to get faster.”
Yearwood has also performed on the girls cheerleading squad.
Oddly, Yearwood received permission to compete on the girls squad without taking any medical steps toward transition. Though, Yearwood plans on eventually taking puberty blockers and hormone treatments.
Girls track coach Brian Calhoun seems thrilled to have been gifted a biologically superior athlete, saying, “She has just been a member of the team running hard day in and day out. Happy to have a girl on the team that runs pretty quickly. … It is going to be a positive thing for the whole team.”
Yearwood’s mother, Ngozi Nnaji, doesn’t seem to have any issue with the natural advantage her son will have competing against females. When asked about the fairness of Andraya competing against girls, Nnaji said, “I know they’ll say it is unfair and not right, but my counter to that is: Why not? She is competing and practicing and giving her all and performing and excelling based on her skills. Let that be enough. Let her do that, and be proud of that.”
Excelling based on his skill, and the fact that he’s naturally bigger, stronger, and faster than anyone racing against him. But hey, why trifle with details?
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn
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