I’m a high school athlete — don’t let Prop 1 destroy girls’ sports

Boys and girls aren’t biologically the same.

Why are schools — and Democratic lawmakers in Albany — duping girls like me into believing that they are?

Recently, on a beautiful fall afternoon, I found myself at the USTA Tennis Center in Queens.

A few weeks earlier, the courts were home to the best tennis players in the world.

Here I was representing my elite private high school as a member of the girls’ varsity tennis team.

My nerves were on display after hitting a few balls into the net.

But my anxiety worsened when I saw who was on the other team: a boy.

His voice was deep.

He had broad shoulders.

He was clearly stronger, with a bigger build than the rest of us.

He wasn’t even trying to pretend that he was a girl.

Thanks to former competitive swimmer Riley Gaines — and her exposure of the injustice of trans athletes in women’s sports — I knew that this was an unfair competition. 

Trans athletes are a physical danger to females.

Many girls have been hurt playing sports against biological boys.

In one case that made headlines in 2022, North Carolina volleyball player Payton McNabb was left unconscious when a biologically male opponent spiked a ball at her head. 

Biological boys are also stealing medals away from deserving girls who devote their lives to their sports.

Just last week, the United Nations released a report that showed girls lost 900 medals to biological males. 

The boy I witnessed at the Tennis Center was one of the top players on his school’s team.

I fumed while watching my teammate play against him in a singles match.

Even worse, I watched his coaches cheer him on.

I felt for the girl who got cut from the team because of him. 

He was permitted to play against girls because of rules set by the New York State Association of Independent Schools allowing biological boys to identify as girls and play on a girls’ team.

These are the rules that every private school accredited by NYSAIS — including Dalton, Brearley and many more — has to follow.

And now, voters are about to decide whether similar rules should apply across all of New York state.

If approved on Tuesday, Proposition 1 would amend New York’s Constitution to let boys play on girls’ teams.

I do not doubt that this would mean the end of girls’ sports. 

Imagine: A boy could say he’s a girl to play volleyball in the fall.

Then if he wants to play baseball in the spring, he could simply announce he’s going back to being a boy.

There is nothing to prevent this madness from happening.

Prop 1 would also let males intrude on female-only spaces.

I could be getting undressed in a locker room after a tennis match, and nothing would stop a boy claiming to be a girl from watching me.

This is terrifying, and it should terrify the parents of every girl in New York state. 

Supporters say Prop 1, which they call the “Equal Rights Amendment,” keeps abortions legal — but New York already has some of the strongest abortion laws in the country.

Sports are such a big part of my life.

Playing keeps me healthy, is social, and is fun. It also improves my mental health.

Prop 1 will push girls like me out of sports, and that will lead to more anxiety and depression.  

State lawmakers are supposed to keep us safe.

Our schools are supposed to teach us right from wrong.

In this upside-down world that we are living in, neither of those things is happening.

Sadly, I have to write this anonymously.

As I have seen with others who speak up, there would be a vicious backlash for just stating my opinion. 

Generations of women before me have fought for rights that are slowly being taken away.

I’m not yet old enough to vote — but I implore my fellow New Yorkers to stop this insanity and vote no on Prop 1.

Anonymous is a student-athlete at a private high school in New York City.