WEBVTT - These Bitches Could NEVER with CeCé Telfer 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:02.800 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we'll be 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:06.480 ignoring any and all responsibilities to focus on what actually 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:10.880 matters this weekend basketball, basketball, and more basketball. 0:00:11.200 --> 0:00:13.400 Bring on the Sweet sixteen and Elite eight. 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:16.400 It's Friday, March twenty eighth, and on today's show, we'll 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:19.160 be talking with c c Telfer, a Jamaican American track 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:21.800 athlete and the first out transgender athlete to win an 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:25.439 NCAA title. We discuss the biggest misconceptions that folks tend 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:28.240 to have about trans athletes, why self care means so 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:31.680 much more to her, inviting politicians, even those who oppose 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.000 trans women in sports, to have a conversation with her 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:37.920 and her fraught relationship with International Transgender Day of Visibility 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:39.040 coming up on Monday. 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:41.239 Plus, the Sweet sixteen is upon us. 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:44.040 We're dropping a whole lot of WNBA news and a 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:46.839 what the fact on the power of inclusion. It's all 0:00:46.880 --> 0:01:00.240 coming up right after this. Welcome back sl This says 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:04.800 Happy Friay. Here's what you need to know today. Kicking 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:07.839 things off with March Madness, The Sweet sixteen gets rolling 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:10.880 on ESPN today at two thirty pm Eastern with you 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:14.160 know nothing special, just the first iteration of the Duke 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:17.560 North Carolina Tobacco road rivalry ever in the history of 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:20.600 the women's NCAA tournament. Carol Awsom will look to usher 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:22.800 the number two Duke Blue Devils into the Elite Eight 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:25.160 for the first time in her five season tenure at 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:27.399 the school, while the number three UNC tar Heels and 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:30.080 Courtney Banghart are seeking the first Elite eight berth in 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:32.960 her six seasons in Chapel Hill. Next on the schedule 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:35.880 number one South Carolina and number four Maryland. At five 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:38.839 pm Eastern, Don Staley's Game Cocks are buying to inch 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.600 closer to a second consecutive NCAA title, while Brenda Freese's 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:45.199 Terps hope to reach the regional final for the second 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:47.880 time in three seasons. Keep an eye on junior forward 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:50.520 Chloe Kitts, who's put up double figures in each of 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:53.680 SC's last seven games, and keep in mind that Marylyn 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:56.279 is coming off that tough double overtime win over Bama, 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:57.720 so fatigue could be an. 0:01:57.600 --> 0:01:58.240 Issue for them. 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:01.920 At seven thirty pm Eastern, to NC State Wolfpack squares 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:05.200 off with number three LSU. Last season, the Pack turned 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:06.880 some heads with a run to the final four, and 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.920 they're hoping to conjure up some more of that magic. Meantime, 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:13.520 Kimmulke's Tigers are back at full strength with Starguardflage Johnson 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:16.440 back in the rotation after missing the entire SEC tournament 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:19.520 resting some shin inflammation. LSU is seeking a second title 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:22.560 in three years, and through two rounds they have been hot. 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:25.280 They're the first team since Long Beach State in nineteen 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:27.720 eighty eight to score one hundred points or more in 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:30.960 consecutive tournament games. Last, but not least, the number one 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:34.240 UCLA Bruins play number five ole Miss at ten pm Eastern. 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:37.080 Corey Close in Ucla survived a first half scare from 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:39.520 number eight Richmond in the last round of action, but 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:42.400 they're battle tested. Led by six foot seven junior center 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:45.880 Lauren Betts. Ole Miss is playing excellent ball under Yolette 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:48.560 McPhee McEwan, trying to crack the Elite eight for the 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:51.440 first time in her seven seasons as head coach. There 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:53.640 are four more games on Saturday two, starting at one 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:56.200 pm Eastern, with number two TCU taking on number three 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:59.119 Notre Dame. Then it's number one Texas versus Number five 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:03.200 Tennessee by number two Yukon facing number three Oklahoma and 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:06.480 wrapping up with number one USC look into Sol drawn 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:09.960 without Juju Watkins as they meet number five Kansas State. 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:12.760 Elite eight games will take place on Sunday and Monday, 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:15.000 narrowing the field down to the teams that'll head to 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:17.200 Tampa for the Final four next weekend. 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:19.399 A Tadmore College Hoops. 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:22.000 News Florida State junior guard Tenaya Latson, who led the 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:26.120 NCAA and scoring this season, is entering the transfer portal. 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:28.760 Her reps at Clutch Sports broke the news to ESPNS 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.920 Andrea Carter yesterday. Per a tweet from Carter, Latson is 0:03:32.000 --> 0:03:35.360 keeping all options open, including a return to FSU. Latson, 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:37.800 a three time member of the All acc First Team, 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:40.400 averaged twenty five point two points per game, four point 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.240 six rebounds, and four point six assists this season while 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:46.560 shooting forty five percent from the floor. In WNBA news, 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.080 three time champ Candice Parker is getting her moment. 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:51.000 Y'all. The Los Angeles Sparks. 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:53.200 Will retire her number three jersey at Crypto dot Com 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:56.120 Arena at halftime on June twenty ninth, during the team's 0:03:56.120 --> 0:03:59.200 game against the Chicago. Sky Parker brought star power to 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:02.000 the Sparks brand when she was drafted first overall out 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:05.120 of Tennessee in eight becoming the first and still only 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:09.400 simultaneous Rookie of the Year and League MVP. In twenty sixteen, 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:11.640 she helped the Purple and Gold end a championship draft 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:14.240 of fourteen years, and then spent four more seasons in 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:17.599 LA before leaving for her hometown Chicago. Sky CP three 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.560 then helped the Sky to the franchise's first ever WNBA 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:23.080 title in twenty twenty one. So it's fitting that the 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:26.920 jersey retirement ceremony will take place at Sparks. Sky Parker's 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:29.480 jersey will join Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie and former 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:32.880 general manager Penny Toller's threads in LA's rafters. In a 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.279 statement released by the Sparks, Parker said, quote, to see 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:37.880 my jersey hanging in the rafters amongst other legends is 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:38.719 truly in honor. 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:40.359 This moment is not just about me. 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:43.240 It's about my family, my teammates, and the incredible support 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:46.679 from the LA Sparks organization and fans. She continued, quote, 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:48.800 I'm grateful to my parents who believed in me every 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:50.920 step of the way, to my brothers who are still 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:53.120 my heroes, and to my wife and kids who inspire 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:53.800 me every day. 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:54.479 End quote. 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:56.960 Less that I could talk more about Candice and all 0:04:57.000 --> 0:04:59.320 she's done for the game, but then we'd have an 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:01.239 hour's long show, so I'll. 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:03.440 Just be brief. Candice, you are one of one. We 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:03.840 love you. 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:06.360 We can't wait to celebrate you. June twenty ninth, More 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:09.600 WNBA news. The WNBA is New York. Liberty announced yesterday 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:12.039 that the franchise is building an eighty million dollar practice 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.919 facility projected to open in twenty twenty seven, calling it 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:18.760 the first ever facility quote designed by players for players 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:22.240 end quote. Sabrina Escu, John Quell Jones, and Brianna Stewart 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:25.240 collaborated with global design firm Populace on behalf of their 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:27.840 whole squad, helping create a space that suits the team's 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:30.440 needs on and off the floor. The facility will be 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:34.240 located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, overlooking the Manhattan Skyline, and it'll 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:37.600 span seventy five thousand square feet. Amenities at the facility 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:40.960 will include private suites for each player instead of traditional lockers, 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:44.880 two full practice courts, an outdoor basketball court, a roof deck, 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:49.000 player dining area, an indoor outdoor two story strength training room, 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:51.680 an in house player hair, nail and makeup studio, and 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:56.520 so much more. Honestly, that sounds like paradise. Hey, Si, family, 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:59.400 libs Ellie, everybody over there? 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:00.000 Can I move in? 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:03.520 There's enough space, right, you won't even notice I'm there. 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:09.560 Promise I'm real quiet, and even more w happenings. 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:10.360 Per the Golden State Valkyries. 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:13.000 Earlier this week, the franchise became the league's first ever 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:15.000 to sell ten thousand season tickets. 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:16.120 We love to hear it. 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:19.359 The Bay Area is buzzin' for women's basketball, and the 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:22.200 Valkyries tip off their inaugural season against the LA Sparks 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.919 at Chase Center on May sixteenth. Two NWSL games on 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:28.400 the slate tonight is the Houston Dash host Scotham FC, 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:31.760 and the Washington Spirit welcome BAFC to the district open 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:35.520 for a fourth straight home match sellout at Audiyfield. Both 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:38.599 games kickoff at eight pm Eastern. Five more games across 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:41.360 the weekend, including the kc Current hosting the Utah Royal 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:44.480 Saturday at seven thirty pm Eastern. Last year's Golden Boot 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:46.560 winner tim Wushewingo will be looking to tie her own 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:49.560 NWSL record of eight straight games with a goal. 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:51.480 We'll link to the schedule in our show notes. 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:55.320 Finally, in college Softball News, Tennessee pitcher Carlin Pickens, the 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:58.320 reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year, made history on Monday 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:00.880 with a seventy eight point two mile prime pitch in 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:03.520 the Lady Bowls game against Arkansas. The pitch is the 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:07.080 fastest recorded in NCAA history and may even be the 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:09.920 fastest of all time. Monica Abbott, who was also a 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:12.520 Lady Vowl, had a seventy seven mile prior pitch in 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.280 a National Pro Fast Pitch game in twenty twelve. That 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:18.480 till now had been the fastest softball pitch according to 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:19.280 the Guinness Book. 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:19.960 Of World Records. 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:23.720 But our research also found a Japanese pitcher, Yukiko uh 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:25.400 I know, who's said to have thrown a fast pitch 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:27.600 of one hundred and twenty eight kilometers per hour, which 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:31.320 is about seventy nine miles per hour. So we'll just 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:35.120 tell you that pickens pitch was fast, real fast, College 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:39.360 record breaking, Guinness World record breaking, and maybe more. Pickens 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:41.320 has already received an invite to play in a Savannah 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:43.840 Banana's game. No word yet on whether she'll just pitch 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:46.040 or get to hop in on a choreographed dance too. 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:48.520 By the way, we know, it's Friday and she threw 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:51.560 the pitch on Monday. But Tennessee's Cherry Parker Lee Stadium 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:53.840 is five hundred and fifty miles from Good Game HQ 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:56.400 here in Chicago, and it's seventy eight miles per hour. 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:57.840 It took a little while to get here. 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:01.440 We got to take a quick break when we come 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:03.320 back my conversation with CC Telfer. 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:06.560 But first a quick note. CC's perspective in. 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:09.400 This interview is informed, of course, by her lived experience. 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:11.880 At times, some of what she says doesn't seem entirely 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.440 consistent with the latest science or academic studies. 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:15.600 But here a good Game. 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:19.880 We're prioritizing running this interview because far too often conversations 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:23.559 about trans people and trans athlete inclusion in sports don't 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:27.240 actually involve trans voices. So while CC might not have 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:29.720 all the perfect answers or have every relevant statistic right 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:31.560 off the top of her head, we think it's more 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:33.839 important for her voice to be heard as opposed to 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:37.040 having folks continue to speak around her without regard for 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.480 her humanity. All right, my conversation with CC's up next? 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:51.360 Stick around joining us now. 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.280 She's a Jamaican born track athlete and twenty nineteen Division 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.600 two NCAA champion in the four hundred meter hurdles, an author, activist, 0:08:57.679 --> 0:08:59.760 and model. If you scroll her Insta, you know she 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:02.839 loves a matching work outfit and a bright jewel tone dress. 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:05.720 At CC telfer, what's up? CC? Thanks for joining us? 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:08.839 Hey you know, Sarah, I'm here. Thank you so much 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.960 for having me. Sorry about being tardy. Listen on me. 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:14.880 You're fine, You're here, That's what matters. 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:15.400 Thank you. 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:17.560 I want to start by talking about part of the 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:20.360 reason you're here, transitive visibility coming up on Monday the 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:22.840 thirty first, and I want to ask, just in general, 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:25.360 what are your feelings about the day and have they 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:26.520 changed in recent years. 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:31.520 Honestly, Sarah, it's become a bittersweet moment for me. I 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:33.839 don't know if you guys have done any research, but 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:38.520 back when I qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, they were 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:43.559 giving me a really hard time in accommodating me than 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:47.360 meaning World Athletics. They weren't really giving me good directions. 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:54.840 So with that happening International Trensgender Day of Visibility, I 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:57.920 would band on that day in twenty twenty two. So 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:00.599 it was just like that. It's a bittersweet moment that like, 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:02.800 thank you so much for the recognition, but like, no, 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:05.160 think you because it's fake and the fact that you 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:07.679 threw it in my face that you're not allowed to 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:10.000 be an athlete. But on top of that, we're going 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:12.719 to ban you on yours day that we recognize you 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:15.400 and see you and supposedly see you. So it was 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:20.599 very hurtful to get that notification on that day and 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:23.880 right and now looking forward, it just feels like a 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:28.080 constant reminder that I don't belong and that I'm allowed 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:31.520 to be anything else except this I'm allowed to be. 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.800 But it's truly not that I'm allowed to be, it's 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:38.000 what can we allow you to be? You know, and 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:40.480 then ban you on your the day that we're supposed 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:40.920 to see you. 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:44.640 Yeah, it's almost like this weird dichotomy of like you 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:48.160 both appreciate and want to be recognized and also you 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:51.320 just want to fit in and not stand out, right, 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:53.560 and in that moment, the fact that they didn't allow 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:55.640 you to fit and meant that you didn't get to participate. 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:58.559 You know, in a recent interview, you talked about how, 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:01.280 prior to this administration, you knew that you woke up 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:02.840 every day and you left the house and that you 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:06.160 might have to face some adversaries. But now because of 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:08.360 this administration, quote, I wake up every day and I 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:09.240 have to make sure that I. 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:10.120 Make it home alive. 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:12.680 Yes, can you share how things have changed for you 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:14.160 just even in the past few months. 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:17.679 Absolutely, I do feel as though that the far right 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:22.000 has gotten louder about their hate for transgender people. It's 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:24.640 not about women in sports. It's just about controlling the 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:28.720 narrative and controlling who gets to exist and who doesn't. Respectfully, 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:32.240 the Trump administration and I have a personal relationship. They 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:34.880 did call me out in twenty nineteen, his son's calling 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:39.720 me a grave injustice to women's sports me personally, and 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:41.800 that kind of put a target on my back. The 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:45.760 target has gotten louder, more confident, bolder in the past 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:49.280 few months, and even given my workplace, a lot of 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:52.360 Make America Great Again hats like to come to my register, 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:56.200 like to come to my store when there's other lanes 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:58.200 that are open, right, they like to come to me 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:01.040 and even like to my death, like they hate me 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:05.240 so much, but they want my services. It's just it's unfathomable, 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:07.200 you know. And then I have cars screaming at me, 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:09.360 yelling out the window, call me if they call me, 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:13.640 all of these things, knowing very well that, like, you know, 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:15.800 I'm a woman, so like in my long hair, I'm 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:17.760 wearing like a trop top, short shirts whatever it may 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:21.240 be that time, like I very much exude feminine. I 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:25.640 very much exude h beauty and femininity. So it's just 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:29.240 like to be screamed at and yelled at in like 0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:33.439 you know, in a gay friendly neighborhood. It just shows 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:35.920 how people have always been thinking and what they've been thinking. 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:40.000 I'm constantly misgendered by gay white men that act like 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:41.520 they don't know what the pro pro is. 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:45.200 So it feels like even the LGBTQ community. 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.320 Absolutely even going to the gym is an issue. I 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:50.200 how am I supposed to How am I supposed to 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:52.800 go into the locker rooms and change if they're they're 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:58.080 they're creating this big issue about changing rooms and bathrooms. Like, right, 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:01.600 I do see the women and now more than ever. 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:03.880 Like even in the past few months, they've been like 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:05.960 acting where they've been like jumping when they see me 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:08.679 in the changing room. They've been giving me smarky looks. 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:11.559 And that was not the case three months ago. Women 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:13.839 were very much like we don't care, like you know. 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:18.640 It's both performative, I think, in order to show displeasure, 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:21.480 but I think it's also probably as a result of 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:24.559 a real intention from the far right to create fear 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:28.000 around trans people more so than ever before. The amount 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:32.200 of money spent on advertising to demonize trans people, not 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:34.640 just in women's sport but in general. So then turn 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:38.800 people into not just maybe neutral observers, but to feel 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:42.880 like they're empowered to act or to show displeasure in 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:45.920 a way that just wasn't okay before, or at least 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:48.720 felt like for a while in most places it wasn't okay. 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:52.040 And they're scapegoating women like me to pretend that they 0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:54.360 care about women in women's sports and issues. 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:58.560 And now we have the research that shows that the 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.120 people who are arguing on behalf of quote unquote protecting 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.000 or saving women's sports are usually ones that don't have 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.000 good feelings about women and women athletes in the first 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:11.240 place exactly, so it's all up front for their anti transagenda. 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:13.640 You know, I want to talk about your title. Back 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:16.120 in twenty nineteen, six years ago, you became the first 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.280 out transgender athlete to win an NCAA title, winning the 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:22.040 Division two four under meter hurdles for Franklin Pierce University. 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:25.320 What are the emotions you feel when you remember that victory. 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:29.880 The emotions I feel are very much happily and sad. 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:35.520 It feels victorious and it's very much affirming for me 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:39.320 because one I belong, I belong on that team. I 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:42.000 belong in that moment. I belong. I deserve to win 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:44.600 that title just like any other ladies lining up on 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:49.400 that line with me. And like sadness because I did 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:51.000 get a lot of praise from a lot of ladies 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:52.880 that I line up on the line with me. But 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:55.560 I'm getting a lot of hate even today from that 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:59.680 because of that day, from some athletes that I ran 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:02.720 with on that day in twenty nineteen are still currently 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.520 mad and it's trying to resend that title or they 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:08.400 see as an accolade, which I don't see as a 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.600 title on accolade. I see it as a step further 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.360 in my affirmation in who I am and my validation 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:17.800 of what I'm here to do. And it's never going 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:22.040 to be a feeling of greatness and gratitude until I 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:24.440 get to that Olympic stage because when it comes to 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:28.120 the NCAA level, they pretend, like, you know, our existence 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.720 in sports doesn't matter if you're not Division one. So 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:33.560 in my mental state as an athlete, when I get 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:36.000 on that Olympic stage, that's when I can start celebrating. 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.280 That's when I can start rejoicing. Right but right now, 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:41.080 the game has just begun, So it was just another 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:43.000 step in the right direction for me, truly. 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:45.280 Yeah, I want to talk about the future of your 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:48.400 track career in a little bit, but I think part 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:52.720 of what's probably interesting too about that win is that 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:55.920 there are less than enthusiastic reactions to your success. There's 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:59.760 such complicated feelings about your win, and that's not usually 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:03.400 how how it works. Usually it's just good job you won, right, 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:05.600 And instead you have to have it wrapped up in 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.360 whether your win is some sort of referendum on the 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:13.280 dominance of trans participation and the reason that it's problematic. Right, 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.760 it's much easier for us even those who back trans 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:19.920 inclusion to argue when those trans athletes aren't winning absolutely 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:22.320 because we could point to them and say, see, they 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:26.040 just want to participate and be included and play yes, 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:29.360 and then winning is much more complicated. So you've become, 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:32.640 in many ways, one of the very few faces of that. 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:35.360 How has that been for you? How do you defend 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:39.800 your right to win, not just be included and participate. 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:42.040 Well, you know, to defend my right to win. How 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:45.520 I do that is I show up and I showed that. Like, 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:50.720 when it comes to athletics and winning, it takes hard work, determination, blood, 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:52.880 sweat and tear. Is just like any other athletes who 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.480 are putting everything that they have, everything that they've been 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:58.840 trained for, on that line, on that field, on that course. Right, 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:03.080 that's what really defines me. So these people that are 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.720 creating all of these noises are not athletes, so therefore 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:09.000 whatever they're saying doesn't really affect me as much. However, 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:13.120 just like anybody else, that's what speaks for my success 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:16.359 is my hard work and dedication to my sport that 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:22.879 shows for itself, just like Angel Reis or Sydney mcloughland. Right, yeah, 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:25.479 just like all these other girls. That's how I show up. 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:28.000 I can't just wake up and decide to be a 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:31.880 female athlete as a transgender person. You know, there are 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:35.040 levels to it, and even if I even to get 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:37.560 on that track, I have to wait a year or 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:40.520 two in order for everything to you know, get the 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:42.720 green flag, to even compete. 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:46.639 Right and ultimately have lower testosterone levels than says women, 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:50.520 proving it again that the success of an athlete goes 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:54.240 so far beyond just your tea number exactly, preparation, hard work, mental, 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:56.439 all the other stuff that goes into it. I wonder 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:59.639 what you think like the biggest misconceptions are about trans 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:00.600 athletes in general. 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:04.679 The biggest misconceptions first is that this is a choice. 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:09.480 It's not a choice, and the choice that we had 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:11.720 to make to be ourselves was not an easy one, 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:15.040 so right there, right then and there, this is not 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:17.160 a choice. I lived this life. I didn't buy it. 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.680 The second most misconception is that we have an advantage 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:25.520 in sports, which we do not, as speaking personally, as 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:29.520 a transgender female athlete that has to undergo rigorous medical 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:33.200 treatment and then have to be approved by doctors, your therapists, 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:35.880 and then have to show all of these medical implications 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:39.320 to your board sporting body, and then there's still a 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:43.359 lingering possibility that they might not agree. Even if you 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:45.600 checked all the boxes and follow all the rules which 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:49.440 I have, you still are subjected to so much. Right, 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:53.720 And the fact is, hormones don't play a significant part 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:56.840 in your success as an athlete. It's determined upon how 0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:59.600 hard you work your resources that you have, so coaches 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:03.720 and faysics are huge in being an athlete, and then 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:08.280 just your mental and physical health overall. So with that 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:11.200 being said, like my muscle rates, the medical transition that 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:13.680 I'm going through, my muscle mass is little to none, 0:19:13.800 --> 0:19:16.879 and it's constantly being deteriorated every single day. I have 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:20.479 no testosterone in my body. My bones are getting more 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.879 and more brittler. So the quote unquote advantage that everybody 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:27.200 is talking about, especially because they like to pinpoint puberty, 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:31.960 all of that medically and scientifically is non existent anymore. 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:34.199 And these people that come up with these rules have 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:37.680 done the research and it's all there that shows that 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:40.800 when undergoing all of these hormone replacement therapies, there are 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:44.000 no advantages. There are none of these underlying factors that 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.959 everybody's talking about right, and then they try to make 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:49.960 the comparison that, oh, what about when you were competing 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:51.840 on the male team and on the female team. Well, 0:19:52.000 --> 0:19:53.919 if you really think about it, I'm a female athlete 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:56.399 competing with the males, Like my hormones and all of 0:19:56.440 --> 0:19:59.280 that are already female. So therefore I'm not going to 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:00.879 be as fast, I'm not going to be as good. 0:20:00.920 --> 0:20:04.280 I'm not going to be as great because not only 0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:08.320 I'm going through medical implications that is taking away my talent, 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:12.399