Sophia Perry

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UK Labour Leader Keir Starmer says he doesn’t want schools teaching young people about transgender identities

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Labour leader Keir Starmer has said he is “not in favour” of “gender ideology” being taught in schools, despite his education spokesperson suggesting the party would review the Conservatives controversial guidance on trans pupils. 

Keir Starmer, who was previously applauded for condemning Rishi Sunak’s anti-trans ‘jokes’, has stated his opposition to the teaching of so-called “gender ideology” – a phrase which is widely considered an anti-trans dogwhistle. 

Speaking with reporters during a school visit in Kettering, Starmer said: “No, I’m not in favour of ideology being taught in our schools on gender,” he said. 

“I think we need to complete the consultation process and make sure that there is guidance that is age appropriate.

“That is helpful for teachers and has at its heart the safeguarding of children.”

A spokesperson for Labour equally told The Times: “Nothing should be taught in an ideological way in schools. 

“Current RSHE [relationships, sex and health education] guidance requires under law that children are taught in an age-appropriate way the facts about ‘sex, sexuality, sexual health and gender identity’. 

“Labour’s priority is the safety and wellbeing of every child.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer and Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Philipson visit a school in the East Midlands to take part in a student Q&A on June 24, 2024 in Kettering, England. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

However, this statement conflicts with the words of his shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, who when asked about the Tories RHSE guidancein a recent BBC interview suggested Labour would review it, stating she does not want it to be a a “political football” or “culture wars” issue.

The current government confirmed in May that sex education for children under the age of nine and education about trans issues for all pupils will be banned following updates to legal guidance, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying at the time the changes were to “protect our children”. The statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) more widely is currently under review by the government. 

This also followed the Tories guidance on gender questioning pupils in schools, released in December 2023, which states teachers are allowed to “decline” a student’s request to use different pronouns, access to single-sex facilities should be based on “biological” sex and social transition can only happen if parents are informed. 

In her BBC interview, Phillipson said: “There are trans people within society and their existence should be recognised.

“Many aspects of the draft had good and straightforward principles in it. Other elements of it, I think, drifted far too much into partisan and unnecessary language.”

Following the interview, Conservative education minister Gillian Keegan claimed Labour would “play politics with the lives of our children” whilst equalities minister Kemi Badenoch said on Friday she was “very, very worried” a Labour government would “undo the work we have done on gender questioning guidance for children”. 

This is certainly not the first time Labour’s stance on trans rights has been unclear, with Starmer previously flip-flopping on his definitions, seemingly siding with Conservative viewpoints as well as backtracking on the party’s commitment to self-ID. 

Alongside these seemingly conflicting stances within the party, yesterday Keir Starmer also said he will meet with JK Rowling to discuss trans issues. 

The Harry Potter author, who is well-known for her gender critical views, has blasted Labour in recent days – a party she used to be a large financial donor to. 

Rowling criticised Labour for “abandoning” women after Starmer’s appearance on BBC Question Time where he answered an audience question regarding his definition of a woman and his criticism of gender-critical Labour MP Rosie Duffield, saying she will “struggle to support them” because of the party’s “dismissive and often offensive towards women fighting to retain the rights their foremothers thought were won for all time”. 

Answering questions a Q&A event at The Sun‘s London HQ on 24 June, Starmer said: “Of course I’d meet with her. Of course I would. She’s made some really important points.

“I’d welcome that discussion, because I do think that we made huge progress on women’s rights under Labour governments.

“On equality we made massive progress. There’s more work to be done if we are privileged to come in to serve this country.

Starmer added: “I want to make sure that we can bring people together.”

This was a topic also brought up to Labour’s shadow secretary of state for health and social care Wes Streeting – who previously said he regrets saying ‘trans women are women’ – on Monday (24 June). 

Streeting said trans rights has been a “difficult conversation, and not just within the Labour Party but within our country because we have had some tension between how you treat trans people with dignity and respect and inclusion,and also make sure that women’s rights, voices, spaces are protected.”

“I feel very optimistic, in fact, about the fact that we can reconcile those two things and move forward together as a country if we have a political culture that’s about bringing people together and navigating our way through these conversations with respect [and] genuinely listening to different perspectives, rather than seeing these differences as divisions to be exploited in – frankly – the way I think we’ve seen from from the current government,” he said.

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University investigating after trans woman filmed and confronted in campus bathroom

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Western Carolina University in North Carolina is investigating after a student confronted and filmed a trans woman in toilets on the campus grounds.

In the clip, which was filmed on the Western Carolina University (WCU) campus, the person behind the camera can be heard asking the trans woman what she is doing in the female toilets. 

“Going to the bathroom,” the trans individual responds. 

“Why are you in the girls’ bathroom?” the camera operator probes, continuing to challenge the trans woman’s presence. 

In response, the person being questioned replies that she is a trans girl, to which the woman retorts: “But you’re not a girl.”

Remaining cool, the individual being filmed replies “Interesting. Never had this before. I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry you feel that way.” 

The person filming claims they “pay a lot of money” to be safe in the female toilets, to which the trans woman agrees and starts to leave. 

After the footage, which PinkNews has chosen not to publish, was shared on social media, it was picked up by conservative online platform LibsofTikTok, sparking a barrage of transphobic abuse. 

However, a number of people also came to the trans woman’s defence and pointed out how inappropriate it was for the person behind the camera to film a stranger in such a setting without their consent. 

In a statement given to The Advocate, a WCU spokesman said: “Western Carolina University is dedicated to fostering a safe and welcoming environment for all students. The university’s primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of all members of its campus community.” 

The spokesperson added that the matter was being investigated.

Meanwhile, in the UK all new non-residential buildings could be forced to have separate male and female toilets under proposed legislation from the Conservative-led UK government in an attempt to ban gender-neutral facilities.

A policy proposed by the Department for Levelling Up on Monday (6 May) will prevent all non-domestic new builds, including restaurants, shopping centres, offices, and more, from having gender-neutral toilets.

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Saudi Arabia hosting 2034 World Cup leaves LGBTQ+ football fans horrified

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LGBTQ+ football fans have reacted with shock to the news that Saudi Arabia will host the men’s football World Cup in 2034, after Australia chose not to bid for the tournament. 

Saudi Arabia’s relationship with football has been the source of controversy in recent months, with many fans and pundits accusing the nation of using sportswashing to hide its long list of human rights violations. 

On Tuesday (31 October), mere hours before the deadline for declarations of interest, Football Australia released a statement in which it said that, after considering “all factors” following the success of the women’s World Cup – hosted jointly with New Zealand early this year – it would not bid to hold the men’s competition in 11 years’ time. 

That left Saudi Arabia as the only nation to confirm interest in staging the tournament. 

LGBTQ+ fans of were quick to criticise the decision, with the Middle East Kingdom known to be openly hostile to LGBTQ+ people while also having a poor human rights record. 

Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia, with the death penalty among the punishments for those found to have engaged in same-sex acts. In addition, LGBTQ+ topics are censored and it is illegal to be trans because Sharia Law prohibits what it describes as crossdressing. 

Alongside this, the country has been heavily criticised for carrying out mass executions, abusing activists, attacking and silencing freedom of speech and having a lack of women’s and migrants’ rights. 

The 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a staunch critic of the government, also significantly damaged Saudi’s international standing. 

In a sarcastic post on X, previously known as Twitter, Jack Murley, the host of the BBC’s LGBT Sports Podcast, noted the similarities between 2018 and 2022 tournament hosts Russia and Qatar respectively and Saudi Arabia, all of which have restrictive laws relating to being LGBTQ+ 

“Good to see football moving in the right direction, eh,” he wrote. 

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Jon Holmes, the founder of Sports Media LGBT+ and editor at OutSports, said: “Eleven years to go til the Saudi World Cup. Eleven years of trying to talk constructively about global warming, human rights abuses, capital punishment, migrant workers and the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people, and then to be told by the people with influence to focus on the football’.” 

The Proud Sky Blues, Coventry City’s LGBTQ+ supporters group, wrote: “#FIFA showing their true colours once again. They do not care about human rights or inclusivity. They care only about one thing: cha-ching.”

One fan wrote: “Another anti-LGBTQ+ country hosting the football World Cup. David Beckham and Jordan Henderson must be looking forward to making more money from being such great allies.” 

In recent months, a number of top players have joined the Saudi Pro League for eye-watering amounts of money, including Cristiano Ronaldo, former Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and ex-Liverpool captain Henderson. 

In particular, Henderson, who has been a strong ally of the community, faced an intense backlash from LGBTQ+ fans for moving to a nation where being LGBTQ+ is illegal and seen as immoral. 

While at Liverpool, Henderson advocated for LGBTQ+ inclusion and was nominated as a football ally at the LGBT+ Awards in 2021, backed Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign and last year said he was “proud” to support the initiative and “football is for everyone”.  

His £12 million ($14.5 million) transfer to Al-Ettifaq was criticised by fan groups, with Pride in Football saying the move was “disappointing”, adding that the England international had “lost the respect of so many people who valued and trusted [him]”. 

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First trans woman to compete in international cricket match: ‘I never dreamed I would do this’

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A Canadian cricket player is set to become the first trans woman to compete in an international match. 

Danielle McGahey has been named by Cricket Canada as part of the country’s squad as they compete to qualify for nest year’s Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

Canada will take on Argentina, Brazil and the United States in the ICC Americas Qualifiers in Los Angeles next week, where they will vie for a place in the global play-offs.  

A native Australian, McGahey moved to Canada in February 2020 and has spoken of her pride at representing her adoptive country on the international stage. 

Speaking to BBC Sport, she said: “I am absolutely honoured. To be able to represent my community is something I never dreamed I would be able to do.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has not sought to ban trans women from competing at elite level outright as other sports, such as cycling, swimming and athletics, have, instead requiring athletes to demonstrate “the concentration of testosterone in her serum has been less than 5 nmol/L1 continuously for a period of at least 12 months, and that she is ready, willing and able to continue to keep it below that level for so long as she continues to compete”.

‘Blood tests every month for over two years’

Alongside this, a trans player must provide the ICC with a “written and signed declaration, in a form satisfactory to the designated medical officer, that her gender identity is female”. 

McGahey said: “To determine [my testosterone levels], I’ve been doing blood tests every month now for over two years. I also have to put in my player profile who I have played against and how many runs I’ve scored.

“A lot of work with my doctor sending medical information to the ICC… they have a dedicated officer who looks over all of the information provided, and determines whether or not I have provided enough for an expert panel to make a decision.

“The need to do blood tests every month is probably the biggest challenge because when you are playing cricket, you are travelling a lot.”

She went on to say: “It’s very personal in terms of the information you are giving over: all your medical information, history of puberty, any surgeries. There’s a lot in it. But the protocols are there and it has been used as intended.”

Sports bodies banning trans women

In recent months, a number of sporting bodies have put regulations in place which specifically exclude trans women from playing elite-level sports.

Most recently, in July, the world cycling governing body – Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) – banned trans women who had transitioned after male puberty from competing in women’s categories. 

Prior to this, trans women were able to compete in the women’s category if their testosterone level was 2.5 nanomoles per litre or below.  

Now, trans women who transitioned after male puberty will be forced to compete in the men’s category, which has been renamed “men/open”.

The UCI’s policy review followed British Cycling’s decision in May to ban trans women from female events. They also introduced an open category.  

McGahey follows Quinn – Canada’s out trans, non-binary football player who competed in this year’s Women’s World Cup – on to the world stage. 

A spokesperson for Cricket Canada said McGahey’s selection was based on the ICC’s player eligibility regulations for male-to-female [MTF] transgender players.

“Danielle sent through her application to the ICC, and Cricket Canada followed the process as per the ICC rules, which made [her] selection to the Canadian team possible,” they said. 

And a statement from the global governing body stated: “We can confirm that Danielle went through the process as required under the ICC’s player eligibility regulations and as a result has been deemed eligible to participate in international women’s cricket on the basis that she satisfies the MTF transgender eligibility criteria.”

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Overwhelming number of trans people in UK pelted with verbal abuse, study finds

Nearly three quarters of trans people in the UK have faced verbal abuse in the last year, shocking new figures from a leading LGBTQ+ charity have revealed. 

Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, has shared new data which highlights the raft of vile abuse both LGBTQ+, and non-LGBTQ+, young people face in the wake of rising homophobic and transphobic rhetoric. 

The figures are part of a new report by the charity called Positive Futures, set to be published on 1 June, which examines the experiences of LGBTQ+ young adults in the UK. 

The report will cover a range of topics including wellbeing, home life, school and work, as well as taking into account intersectional identities such as faith, race and disability. 

Carried out by market researcher Cibyl on behalf of Just Like Us, the study surveyed 3,695 adults aged 18 to 25. 

‘Devastating’

The research found in the past year 61 per cent of LGBTQ+ young adults have experienced verbal abuse.

Within these figures, a staggering 72 per cent of trans young adults faced verbal abuse in that time frame. 

After trans people, non-binary (70 per cent) asexual (68 per cent) young adults were then the most likely to report verbal abuse in the last 12 months. 

The research also found nearly half (47 per cent) of non-LGBTQ+ young adults have also faced anti-LGBT+ verbal abuse during the previous 12 months, despite not being queer. 

Amy Ashenden, interim CEO of Just Like Us, said it is “devastating” to see a majority of trans young people have faced verbal abuse and it is a “sign of the often terrifyingly transphobic times we are living in here in the UK”.

“The levels of abuse faced by LGBT+ young adults are completely unacceptable,” she said.

“It’s hard to believe that in 2023, LGBT+ young people are still being subjected to verbal abuse and violence, and that anti-LGBT+ attacks are so prevalent that they are even being directed at non-LGBT+ young people.” 

‘Vital’ we take LGBTQ+ inclusion ‘seriously’

The Just Like Us research also found that when it comes to physical abuse, both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ young people face similar levels (25 per cent and 24 per cent respectively). 

However, when examined in terms of identity these results shot up for those who are lesbian (30 per cent), asexual (32 per cent) and gay men (31 per cent). 

LGBTQ+ young adults were significantly more likely than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts to say the physical abuse they experienced was sexual abuse (50 per cent opposed to 30 per cent). 

Within this, young lesbians were the most likely to have faced sexual abuse (57 per cent) whilst asexual young people were the group with the highest likelihood of experiencing domestic abuse (44 per cent). 

“It is absolutely vital that we start taking LGBT+ inclusion seriously, and that schools all over the UK give young people positive messages about LGBT+ identities, otherwise I fear that these figures will only increase,” Ashenden added.  

“A great place to start for schools UK-wide is signing up for School Diversity Week, so that teachers can access our free and easy-to-use resources and let all of their pupils know that being LGBT+ is something to be celebrated and proud of.” 

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Most dating apps have zero tolerance for transphobia

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Most top dating apps are entirely inclusive of trans people, which will come as terrible news to transphobes who are still raging over lesbian dating app HER’s ongoing support of its transgender users.

In recent weeks, HER has faced the vitriol of anti-trans bigots expressing outrage that the platform, which has been trans-inclusive “since day one”, welcomes trans and non-binary people.

And it’s not just HER. Leading dating apps such as Tinder, OkCupid, Hinge and Grindr are all trans inclusive and have zero-tolerance policies when it comes to transphobia on their platforms.

The pile-on faced by HER resulted in its Twitter account being temporarily suspended on Lesbian Visibility Day (26 April), after bigots reported it en masse. It has now been reinstated. 

So-called gender critical male activists even took to creating accounts on HER in a bid to “catch out” trans women using it to find love – only to end up exposing one another instead. 

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The team behind the app did not take the hostility lying down and came out swinging for trans rights and in defence of HER’s trans and non-binary users. 

In response to the attacks, the team sent a push notification to the app’s 10 million users,telling transphobes to delete it from their phones. 

Robyn Exton, HER’s founder and chief executive, told PinkNews that the anti-trans hate was not slowing the team down and, instead, they are using it as an opportunity to double down and “to make our position exceptionally clear”. 

Exton explained: “It’s kind of absurd that we’re now getting this vitriol, saying that we’re a lesbian app that is ‘now promoting’ inclusion of trans women. It always has, since day one.”

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Robyn Exton, the founder of queer dating app HER. (Helena Price)

Transphobes enraged at HER’s policies will be hard-pressed to find a mainstream dating app that specifically excludes trans people.

Arguably the best-known dating app in the world, Tinder is often the first platform people new to the online dating world venture on to – and is open to the entire LGBTQ+ community. 

The app has found LGBTQ+ people tend to use Tinder as the first place they are comfortably “out” after coming to terms with their identity, a spokesperson for the company told PinkNews.  

The number of LGBTQ+ Tinder members under the age of 30 has doubled in the past three years, data from the platform showed. 

A spokesperson said: “Tinder is an inclusive community where our members can freely express themselves, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. 

“Vulnerable communities face outside bias, prejudice and stigma, and Tinder recognises the role it has to support the safety of all members on our platform. 

“We’ve collaborated with leading organisations, including HRC [the Human Rights Council], RAINN [The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network] and GLAAD to help us create an equitable and respectful platform where everyone can make meaningful connections.”

Additionally, in 2019 Tinder introduced its “traveller alert” an in-app function that enables LGBTQ+ users to “hide” their profile, should they be alerted by the platform that they have entered a country that discriminates against the queer community.

Tinder calls itself an inclusive community.(Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for OkCupid – which has 50 million registered users worldwide – told PinkNews that the platform supports the entire LGBTQ+ community. 

“We were the first dating app to offer expanded gender and orientation options and we now offer users 22 genders and 20 orientation options that include agender, transgender, trans man and trans woman,” the spokesperson said. 

“Last year, after hearing from non-binary and transgender daters, we realised there was an opportunity to educate and inform people about the different identities we offer on our app and added definitions to each of our gender and orientation options to help people better understand what these terms mean, and better serve all our users.” 

The team is always working to create a “safer, more welcoming experience for everyone”, they added. 

‘Transphobia is a violation of our terms’

On its website, Hinge – with its 23 million users – describes trans and gender non-conforming people as an “essential part of the [its] community”. 

A Hinge spokesperson said: “At Hinge, we’re passionate about building a welcoming and effective dating app where everyone can find love. 

“To support LGBTQIA+ daters in fully expressing themselves and foster an inclusive community, we’ve introduced a variety of app updates.” 

These updates include NFAQ (Not-so Frequently Asked Questions), a resource for queer daters, prompts for LGBTQIA+ daters, the addition of pronoun options and more than 50 gender options for users. 

“The safety and well-being of our trans daters are always a top priority,” the spokesperson added, “We have a zero-tolerance policy for hate and anyone exhibiting transphobic behaviour on Hinge will be banned from our community. 

“If a user experiences transphobia, we encourage them to report it through our hate speech reporting option – which they can do directly within the app and our team will take immediate action.”

They added: “Anyone who reports a user for being trans or non-binary will be banned from our community. Furthermore, we have an ongoing relationship with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to identify and remove any hate speech within our app.” 

A statement from the company’s website also says: “We have never, and will never, ban someone based on their gender or gender expression. Being trans is no more a violation of our terms of service than being cis (cisgender refers to anyone who is not trans).

“Transphobia, on the other hand, including reporting someone simply for being trans, is definitely a violation of our terms of service. We have banned members in the past for reporting profiles for this reason and will continue to do so.

“It’s our responsibility to ensure that trans members feel safe and welcome on Hinge and we will continuously work to do just that.” 

Most dating apps are trans inclusive. (Yu Chun Christopher Wong/S3studio/Getty Images)

Perhaps best-known as a hook-up app for gay men, Grindr is proud of its inclusivity and describes itself as a “social networking app for gay, bi, trans and queer people”. 

In 2017, the app introduced more gender options to enable users to be able to express themselves authentically. 

This has expanded over the years and the app now hosts a range of community resourcesfor the trans, as well as the wider queer, community, covering everything from FAQs on gender identity to sexual health. 

‘Real love is for everyone’

Although launched as a dating platform for solely cisgender, heterosexual people, eHarmony has grown over the years and now specifically labels itself as “LGBT friendly”.  

The company website states: “We believe that real love is for everyone and we’re deeply committed to providing a platform that’s safe, inclusive and welcoming for every single one of our members.

“We don’t have a type – eHarmony members represent individuals of all ages, demographics and backgrounds.”

“We’ve learned and grown quite a bit in our 20+ years of helping millions find real love and we have continuously evolved to meet the needs of our members. The work to build a diverse and inclusive environment is never complete. 

“We recognise that we have work left to do and we are committed to finding ways to be more inclusive to people of all gender identities and sexual orientations, across all facets of what we do.”

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Florida students may be forced to prove they can menstruate before playing sports

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Student athletes in Florida could be forced to turn in information about their menstrual history after an athletics association’s medical panel doubled down on its recommendation. 

The Florida High School Athletics Association’s (FHSAA) sports medicine advisory committee has stood by its recommendation to require high school athletes to submit information about their periods for each year they register to participate. 

The move comes after a suggestion that the association’s board adopt a national sports registration form – which makes menstrual information mandatory. 

Questions listed on the form include asking if players have had a period, when they first got their period, the date of their most recent one was and the regularity of their cycle during the previous 12 months. 

Notably, the main difference between the national form and Florida’s system, as the Palm Beach Post reports, is where the information is stored. 

The national form states that the part detailing athletes’ medical history – including their menstrual history – should not be turned into schools but remain with their physician. 

However, the FHSAA’s sports medicine committee recommended that all pages of the form be handed over to their schools.

The committee argues that school staff need all the information they can get on their athletes, in case of a medical emergency.

The committee’s recommendation now goes to the FHSAA’s board of directors, which is due to meet at the end of next month. 

The questions and the recommendation about where the information will go has come under fire from parents, medical professionals and abortion rights campaigners in recent weeks and months. 

Their concerns come amid shifts in access to abortions, the moral panic over transgender athletes and the risks posed by the digital age. 

PinkNews has widely covered the attacks on trans athletes in US schools, with some states barring transgender pupils‘ participation altogether.

Trans Olympian Caitlyn Jenner even doubled down on her opposition to trans women taking part, stating that “we have to protect women’s sports”.

Worries have also been aired that students’ menstrual information could be used to prosecute them if they terminate a pregnancy. 

In April 2022, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed into law an anti-abortion measure which bans the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy – without exemptions for rape, incest or human trafficking. 

Such information could thus be used by courts to convict students if they have an abortion after the 15-week limit. 

Parents have also spoken out against the risk of children’s medical information being leaked or stolen in the event of a data breach. 

As the Palm Beach Post reported, huge swathes of student athletes’ registration forms have already been moved online and are stored by a third party.

Dr. Michael Haller, a paediatric endocrinologist based in Florida city of Gainesville, said: “I don’t see why [school districts] need access to that type of information. It sure as hell will give me pause to fill it out with my kid.”