transgender athletes

In a report issued this week, a think tank spearheaded by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Women's Sports Foundation urged that school administrators adopt concrete inclusion policies for transgender athletes.

Conservative talk show host Michael Medved has slammed the first openly transgender college basketball athlete, calling Kye Allums's participation in collegiate sports "[a]n insane level of political correctness." Allums, who came out as transgender in a recent interviewwith Outsports, has been embraced by George Washington University teammates and has not yet transitioned.

Kye Allums, believed to be the first transgender athlete to play NCAA Division 1 basketball, sat down with the press in advance of making his debut on the court for George Washington University later this month. Coaches for the team talked with NCAA officials, who said that as long as Kye doesn’t take hormones or undergo sex reassignment surgery while playing, he will be allowed to continue. Watch the video here.

The governing body of college sports has clarified its stance on allowing student athletes to undergo medical gender transition procedures while remaining eligible to play. The decision comes after George Washington University's Kye Allums came out as the first openly transgender college hoops player. Allums said that while he identifies as male, he will avoid hormone treatment or surgeries to remain on the women's team. Still, a GWU spokeswoman told Allums that he could undergo gender-reassignment surgery while maintaining his NCAA eligibility.

At the beginning of October, the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) began to tackle homophobia and transphobia in sports. As a first step they are "collecting the stories of LGBT athletes, coaches and allies who can shed light on the challenges and barriers homophobia and transphobia present.

When some people think of sports, they don't necessarily think about gays — a big mistake. Here is just a slice of some of 2010's biggest stories within the overlap of LGBT people and sports. Whether it was about their talent, gender or sexuality, those influential people who made sports headlines this year included Lisa Howe, Lana Lawless, Kye Allums, Katie Miller, Caster Semenya, Ireen Wust, Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams.

The mother of Kye Allums, a basketball player for George Washington University women's team, said that the school is preventing her son from playing despite medical clearance and stifling talk about his being the first openly transgender person to play NCAA Division I basketball.

While international homophobia sometimes takes center-stage, don't count out good ol' America's ability to be just as bigoted as our friends across the pond.

We're not letting Vladimir Putin rain on our parade. To us, these women deserve the gold.