This letter is in response to the column by Tom Elias in Sunday's Enterprise. In it, Mr. Elias opines that the legal challenge filed by Gov. Newsom in response to the Trump administration's threat to withhold education funding is a poor choice due to the small number of transgender athletes participating in sports at the high school and college levels.
This strikes me as an ethically and morally bankrupt position. Does Mr. Elias believe that there should be a minimum number of members required for a class of people to qualify for legal protection? If so, how many people does he believe it's okay to discriminate against before action is justified?
A further question for Mr. Elias: can he provide a single example of an institution that has complied and then been left alone? The news since the inauguration would seem to argue that such an example does not exist, so what would be the benefit of sacrificing the rights of transgender athletes? If Mr. Elias believes that capitulation on this issue will protect Californians and our educational system, I have a bridge to sell him.
This issue has nothing to do with sports, it has to do with the eradication of a group of human beings. Normalizing discrimination against transgender people in the arena of sports will only guarantee that further demands for discrimination and exclusion will follow.
I am proud that California is saying no to the unreasonable and arguably illegal demands of this administration. I, for one, am tired of being told who should be thrown under the bus so that my privilege can be preserved.
Leslie Thomsen
Davis