SC becomes latest conservative state to enact transgender sports ban

South Carolina this week became the 17th state to restrict the ability of transgender women to play on girls’ or women’s sports teams.

Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday signed into law the so-called “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which requires students to compete in athletics based on the gender listed on their birth certificates.

It bars transgender females from participating in girls’ or women’s sports at the elementary, high school and collegiate levels.

“We have to do everything we can to protect the young men and women in our state who choose to pursue athletic competition, and that’s why I proudly signed this bill into law yesterday,” the governor tweeted Tuesday.

McMaster said he views the legislation as a common-sense solution that maintains the integrity of women’s athletics, which supporters of the ban argue could be compromised by transgender females.

“I think common sense dictates that boys should play against boys in boys’ sports, men’s sports and the same thing with girls,” McMaster said earlier this month. “Otherwise it introduces an element of unfairness into it and I think most of the athletes would prefer to do it the way we’ve been doing it for many, many years.”

South Carolina’s transgender sports ban failed multiple times last year, but was revived in recent months amid a growing national conversation over whether transgender women should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. The issue has received significant attention in conservative media, particularly following the success of collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas, who in March became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA Division I swimming competition.

Critics of the bill, including physicians, LGBTQ advocates and Democrats, argue it’s a solution in search of a problem that stigmatizes young people who simply want to participate in sports.

“Transgender youth are not a threat to fairness in sports, and this law now needlessly stigmatizes young people who are simply trying to navigate their adolescence, make friends, and build skills like teamwork and leadership, winning and losing,” said Ivy Hill, executive director of Gender Benders and community health program director of Campaign for Southern Equality.

Since 2016, only five transgender athletes have applied for waivers to participate in high school sports, according to the South Carolina High School League. The High School League has dealt with those requests on a case-by-case basis, approving the participation of one transgender female high school student and three transgender male high schools students.

Elizabeth Mack, a Charleston-based pediatrician and member of S.C. United for Justice and Equality who worked against passage of the bill, said earlier this year she feared its passage could exacerbate mental health issues among transgender youth.

“Transgender youth face higher rates of bullying, mental health issues, and even suicide than their non-transgender peers, which we sadly see routinely in pediatric ICUs,” Mack said after the Senate passed the transgender sports ban earlier this month. “This bill tells a population that is already at risk, ‘We do not support you,’ and I am devastated to see it pass. We must protect our future — our young people.”

Opponents of the bill also caution that South Carolina could lose out on major sporting events because of the law, as North Carolina did after its state legislature in 2016 passed its infamous “bathroom bill,” which prevented transgender people from using public bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity.

No college or professional sports associations have announced plans to steer clear of South Carolina following enactment of the “Save Women’s Sports Act.”