Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D), the Democratic candidate for US Senate in his state, clarified his position on trans participation in sports during an interview at The Texas Tribune Festival on September 24.

The moderator asked Talarico why he voted against a statewide trans sports ban after telling a Fox News interviewer earlier this month, “I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness.”

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“Have you changed positions on this topic?” the moderator asked. 

“No, my position is exactly the same,” Talarico replied. “The reason I opposed that bill is because it was a blanket statewide ban without any appreciation for nuance.”

“I’ve supported an amendment to that bill to allow local officials – local education officials, local sports officials – to decide on an athlete-by-athlete, sport-by-sport basis, if there’s safety and fairness. That has always been my North Star, and it’s gonna continue to be my North Star.”

“I’m also always gonna stand up to politicians who bully students,” he added “who bully kids to score political points. My faith teaches me that every child is made in the image of God. And so I’m always gonna push back against efforts to grandstand, when it comes to our students, and I’ll always fight to make sure that… every sport is safe and fair.”

He emphasized that protecting students and having fair sports “are not mutually exclusive goals.” 

Trans journalist Erin Reed pointed out, however, that this position is merely “a strategic framing that sidesteps questions about the role of the federal government in regulating who gets to play on what team and enjoy certain gender-related civil rights protections.”

Talarico angered many trans rights activists with his Fox News statement earlier this month. After saying he opposes trans participation that affects fairness, he explained, “I think that the people closest to these problems are best equipped to make decisions for themselves, not politicians in Austin, not politicians in Washington. I trust local officials and local communities to make these decisions, and that’s what I voted for.”

“As a lawmaker, my job is to try to kind of sift through everything the bill does. And sometimes there’s stuff that is really harmful, and I have no choice but to oppose the bill as a whole.”

In a statement to The Texas Tribune following Talarico’s comments, Brad Pritchett, CEO of the state LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Texas, said his organization “expect[s] better” of Talarico and his campaign.

“When did people of moral standing decide to use Texas children as a political football?” Pritchett said. “Fairness in school sports must include trans kids. Trans kids deserve the opportunity to play sports as much as their peers.” 

The organization also noted that Talarico has voted and made statements in favor of LGBTQ+-inclusive school policies, in contrast to his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has “gutted protections for LGBTQIA+ kids.”

Elsewhere in a Fox News interview, Talarico walked back his 2021 statement that there are “six genders,” saying, “I missed the mark on some of my past statements; I’ll be the first to admit it. What I meant is there are two sexes, and there’s a small percentage of people with genetic abnormalities. Obviously, I didn’t say it correctly. There are not six sexes, there are two.”

In a Bluesky post following Talarico’s comments, trans journalist Parker Molloy noted that Texas’ legislature passed an anti-trans sports ban near the end of 2021, adding, “[It’s] literally an issue that is affecting ZERO kids right now (except for any trans kids who want to play sports). But [Talarico] STILL ends up feeding into this BS.”

Noting that Paxton had accused Talarico of wanting to force children to transition, trans civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo wrote on Bluesky, “No matter how much you throw trans people under the bus, you are still going to get attacked. All you’ve done is betray a vulnerable minority, anger your base, and made the issue front and center.”

Reed responded to Caraballo’s comment, writing, “The sad thing is, it’s only going to get worse. This is what these dems are saying before the ad spend cranks up. Just wait until the debates, the ads, the consultants sweep in. Buckle up, everyone.”

In a 2021 legislative hearing, Talarico has slammed anti-trans sports bans for “ask[ing] the government to police people’s private parts” and said arguments in favor of such bans — which claim that trans athletes have a genetic advantage, disrupt team cohesion, and endanger competitors’ safety — are all similar arguments made to justify racial discrimination keeping Black athletes out of pro sports.

“Some things are more important than perfectly fair competition in sports,” he said. “If one trans child dies to protect someone’s damn trophy, this bill is grotesque.”

He also said, during his speech, “Trans children are God’s children, made in God’s own image. There’s nothing wrong with them. Nothing at all. They are perfect, they are beautiful, and they are sacred. Bullying children is immoral. It’s a sin. A special kind of sin.”

Last September, when responding to an MS NOW interviewer’s question about his views on transgender athletes, he responded, “We need not only the media, but all of us to focus on the real problem at hand.”

“I’ve had a lot of interviews with national media — no one’s ever asked me about the cost of housing,” he continued. “No one’s asked me about the cost of prescription drugs. No one’s asked me about the cost of child care. The only thing the media wants to ask me about are trans athletes.”

He added, “So, what I would say is that the only minority destroying this country is the billionaires: Trans people are 1% of the population. Undocumented people are 1% of the population. Muslims are 1% of the population. We are all focused on the wrong 1%. Trans people aren’t taking away our health care. Undocumented people aren’t defunding our schools. Muslims aren’t cutting taxes for themselves and their rich friends. It’s the billionaires and their puppet politicians.”

Reed did point out, however, that Talarico has not walked back his pledge to support a national ban on surgical interventions for trans youth. While gender-affirming surgery is almost never performed on minors anyway, Reed said the bill could also include bans on other gender-affirming care for youth, like hormone therapy. 

But Talarico’s shortcomings when it comes to LGBTQ+ equality are nothing compared to his Republican opponent, current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has devoted his career to actively terrorizing the LGBTQ+ community.