James Talarico says he opposes trans athletes in girls’ sports ‘if it risks safety or fairness’
Democrat candidate for US Senate James Talarico (Getty Images)
James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the US Senate in Texas, has explicitly stated he opposes transgender student-athletes competing in girls’ sports if it risks “safety or fairness”, suggesting a significant shift from the positions he took while serving in the Texas House.
Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday (9 September), Talarico said: “Every sport has to be safe and fair. As a former public school teacher, I care a lot about our student athletes, I care a lot about our students. And so I will oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it risks safety or fairness.”
Talarico previously voted against Republican legislation that would have restricted transgender students from playing on sports teams corresponding with their gender identity.
In 2021, while debating one of those bills, Talarico argued that such legislation amounted to the government attempting to “police people’s private parts”. He also compared arguments about trans athletes having a supposed genetic advantage to historical arguments used to exclude Black athletes from professional sports.
‘Some things are more important than perfectly fair competition in sports’
At the time, he said: “Some things are more important than perfectly fair competition in sports.”
Talarico now says his opposition to those bills was not because he believed there should never be restrictions on trans athletes, but because he considered the Republican proposals “overly broad”. He said he supported amendments that would have narrowed the restrictions, including proposals to leave eligibility decisions to local school boards, apply restrictions only to individual sports and limit the prohibition to schools with professionally licensed counsellors.
“I trust local officials and local communities to make these decisions, and that’s what I voted for,” Talarico told Fox News.
He also stated that lawmakers sometimes have to oppose an entire bill when attempts to remove what they consider harmful provisions fail.
Talarico is currently campaigning to win a statewide race in Texas, a historicallyRepublican state. His previous comments and legislative record on LGBTQ+ rights have become a major focus of Republican attacks, with Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton using Talarico’s opposition to trans sports restrictions in campaign messaging to portray him as too progressive for Texas.
Talarico also used the Fox News appearance to walk back another controversial comment from his time in the Texas House. In 2021, he said there were “six genders” during a committee debate over a bill concerning transgender students and school sports. Asked whether he still believed there were six sexes, Talarico said no.
“I missed the mark on some of my past statements, I’ll be the first to admit it,” he said, adding that he meant there are “two sexes” and a small percentage of people with genetic variations. “Obviously I didn’t say it correctly. There are not six sexes, there are two,” he said.
His latest comments have already drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates. Brad Pritchett, CEO of Equality Texas, said in a statement that the organisation “expects better” from Talarico and his campaign. “When did people of moral standing decide to use Texas children as a political football? Fairness in school sports must include trans kids. Trans kids deserve the opportunity to play sports as much as their peers,” Pritchett said, as per The 19th.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
