Just two weeks after World Athletics banned transgender women from competing in track and field, another organization has pulled the plug on trans women competing in swim meets with other women.
Swim England updated its “Transgender and Nonbinary Competition Policy” Monday to reflect that starting on Sept. 1, only cisgender women will be able to take part on so-called “female teams,” and a new “open” category will be created for nonbinary and trans women swimmers and anyone else who wants to compete outside of the binary, cisgender-based categories.
The organization stated, “Swim England believes that the restriction of certain competition to birth sex females to be justified and proportionate in the pursuit of fair competition,” and claims its new policy “has inclusion and fairness at its very heart,” but trans inclusion advocates criticized the move as exclusionary and disappointing.
“It is widely recognized that fairness of competition must be protected and Swim England believes the creation of open and female categories is the best way to achieve this,” officials wrote in a statement on the group’s website. “The updated policy ensures there are entry-level competitive opportunities for transgender people to participate in the majority of our disciplines within their gender identity.”
But while those entry-level chances will provide a provision for athletes to self-ID at these low-level “unlicensed” events, such as recreational races, timings and scores posted at these events will not be applicable to Swim England rankings or eligible as records. Which is, of course, the point of competitive swimming.
American trans man and trailblazing swimmer Schuyler Bailar called the new policy “transphobic,” noting that by setting an age limit of 12 to have transitioned or gone on puberty blockers, Swim England has effectively excluded all trans women and girls.
“This is not about preserving fairness, this is not about protecting women’s sports, it is about excluding trans people,” he said in a social media post.
“While trans kids can play authentically in non-competitive environments, the policy fundamentally denies trans girls the right to compete as themselves,” said the British trans support outfit,
The Education Department proposed a rule Thursday in connection with the growing number of states that have banned transgender student-athletes from participating on school sports teams that align with their gender identities.
The department’s proposed rule would change Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 — which prohibits discrimination based on sex in federally funded education programs — by, in part, prohibiting blanket exclusions of trans girls and women from female sports teams, which have become law in 20 states.
The measure would, however, permit some restrictions in certain sports at more elite levels of competition, such as in high school or college.
The proposed regulation, which will be open for public comment for 30 days, says programs or schools that adopt sex-related criteria “that would limit or deny a student’s eligibility to participate on a male or female team consistent with their gender identity” must meet two standards.
First, the restriction must “be substantially related to the achievement of an important educational objective,” and, second, it must “minimize harms to students whose opportunity to participate on a male or female team consistent with their gender identity would be limited or denied,” according to the draft of the proposed rule.
“A one-size-fits-all categorical ban that excludes all transgender girls and women from participation on any female athletic team, for example, would not satisfy the proposed regulation because it would fail to account for the nature of particular sports, levels of competition, or the greater education level of students to which it would apply,” a senior Education Department official said at a news conference Thursday.
The official said the department expects that elementary school students would be able to participate on school sports teams consistent with their gender identities under the proposed rule, while schools might choose to restrict the participation of some trans students in higher grade levels in certain cases.
“The proposed regulation would give schools flexibility to identify their own important educational objectives,” the official said. “They might include, for example, fairness in competition or preventing sports-related injuries. Some objectives, like the disapproval of transgender students or a desire to harm a particular student, would not qualify as important educational objectives.”
The department said in a statement that its approach fits with Congress’ direction in 1974 that the Title IX regulations include reasonable provisions that consider “the nature of particular sports.”
The statementalso noted that many sports governing bodies have developed participation criteria and that the NCAA adopted a sport-by-sport policy for transgender athletes’ participation last year. The official who spoke to media Thursday, however, said that the department does not take a stance on the NCAA policy and that it would not advise a school to adopt a particular athletic association’s policy.
“A key element of the proposed rule is a need for schoolsto have particularized consideration for each sport and level of competition and grade or education level, and I would caution any school about taking something off the shelf without offering that particularized consideration,” the official said.
The NCAA changed its policy amid a media firestorm ignited after Lia Thomas, a trans swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, broke multiple records at a meet in December 2021.
Efforts to restrict trans athletes’ participation are part of a nationwide wave of bills targeting LGBTQ rights. State legislators have introduced more than 450 bills targeting the LGBTQ community this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and a separate group of researchers who are tracking the flow of legislation.
In addition to the 20 states that have passed trans athlete laws, 14 have passed restrictions on transition-related health care for minors.
Asked by a reporter Thursday how the Education Department would enforce the proposed rule against states that have already passed categorical bans, the senior department official said, “Federal civil rights law is the law of the land.”
The department would investigate, the official said, and in the past, when it has identified legal violations, school committees have elected to come into compliance.
“In the unlikely scenario that a school committee declined to come into compliance with the law, the tool that the department has is to initiate fund withholding and to ensure that no federal dollars are spent to discriminate against students,” the official said.
The department plans to have the rule finalized in May.
Reactions from LGBTQ advocacy groups and trans advocates are mixed.
Sasha Buchert, a senior attorney for Lambda Legal and the director of its Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project, said the proposal “includes critical recognition of the importance of participating in sports for transgender youth and shows why 100% of the state bans are invalid.”
“We are concerned about whether the proposed rule can properly eliminate the discrimination that transgender students experience due to the pervasive bias and ignorance about who they are,” Buchert said in a statement. “Given the importance of the opportunity to participate in athletics to students’ educational experience, we look forward to submitting comments and working with the administration to further remove those remaining bigotry-based barriers to full and equal participation by transgender youth.”
Alejandra Caraballo, a trans advocate and clinical instructor at Harvard Law’s Cyberlaw Clinic, called the proposal a “backwards betrayal” that would force trans people “to have to spend our time dealing with god damn sports instead of criminal bans on our healthcare.”
President Joe Biden “could have just done nothing,” she said on Twitter. “This is legitimizing transphobia.”
State legislatures have introduced almost 400 anti-trans bills this year, and most of them focus on trans youth.These bills are drastically impacting their lives, restricting everything from how their gender identity is handled at school to the medical coverage they receive. Families are traveling for hours (sometimes moving permanently), crossing state lines to get the medical treatments they need and to escape bills and laws that could tear their families apart.
As the Director of the Youth & Family Program at Health Care Advocates International (HCAI), transgender youth regularly contact me from across the country for help, particularly from states with the most drastic gender-biased bills in play, like Florida, Alabama and Texas.
And the legal challenges keep coming, a sure sign that with every step forward the LGBTQ+ community takes two steps back. It is a trend of enormous concern to so many of us who work with trans and nonbinary youth. The sheer number of these bills and the attention they are being given mean that the voices of the intolerant minority are louder than our voices.
For TGNB youth and their families who live in states with proposed legislation against their existence, the spotlight on TDoV has dimmed, and for their own protection, these individuals cannot allow themselves to be seen nor celebrated. I encounter it every day. The number of youth in crisis is rising at an alarming rate. Kids who don’t get the acceptance and support they need within their homes, their schools or their peer groups feel depression and anxiety wash over them like a tidal wave. It’s crippling, and too often it leads to self-harm, even suicide.
It is a regular occurrence for me to work in pediatric psychiatric units with children who say, “I don’t want to live anymore. Because no one sees me for who I really am.” It is heartbreaking, and given the roadblocks that continue to be erected in their paths, it becomes increasingly more difficult for these children to trust and believe the people and organizations that are trying to help.
When I conduct school workshops to train educators and administrators, I often ask the audience, “Who here knows someone who is transgender?” In most cases, I see only a hand or two raised. I typically respond by saying, “Well, I am transgender so now you know someone!” They are often surprised but put at ease by my response. Then I say, “So now that you know I am trans, are you looking at me differently?”
I can tell that question challenges their thinking and I remind them that the TGNB community is really no different than everyone sitting in the room – we want to be treated with respect, acceptance and kindness.
Raising awareness is not only about being seen but also about being heard. Those of us in the TGNB community who have the privilege to be seen can come together and use our voices to support those who cannot yet speak out. We ask the LGBQ and cisgender communities to join us as well.
We must be visible for the invisible.
Health Care Advocates International stands beside those youth and their families who can’t celebrate openly and send the message that HCAI sees you, hears you and supports you.
As director of HCAI’s Youth and Families program, Tony Ferraiolo helps to provide a safe, supportive place for LGBTQ+ youth and their families. Tony joined the HCAI family in 2021. The program aims to build bridges within communities so every child can be their authentic self and walk a path of happiness filled with love and kindness.
After years of struggling with his own gender identity, Tony transitioned in 2005. Realizing that he went through this difficult time not knowing any other transgender person, he made it his life purpose to support LGBTQ+ youth and their families.
Tony is also a certified life coach, published author, and holds a teaching certification in mindfulness. He is co-founder of the Jim Collins Foundation, a nonprofit providing financial assistance for gender-confirming surgeries. Tony was the subject of the award-winning documentary A Self-Made Man. To learn more about Health Care Advocates International visit https://www.hcaillc.com/.
Editor’s note: This article mentions suicide. If you need to talk to someone now, call the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860. It’s staffed by trans people, for trans people. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
When out NASCAR driver Zach Herrin recently returned to the track after a 10-year absence, corporations weren’t exactly knocking down his door to slap their logos on his racing suit. Even though his team has conversations “all day, all week, every month, all throughout the year” with various brands, they were constantly told Herrin doesn’t “fit” within the multimillion dollar marketing budgets of the companies.
This challenge wasn’t new for Herrin — auto racing isn’t known as the most inclusive of sports. Still, Herrin loves racing after being “practically raised on the track” and managed to turn a weekend hobby with his father into a career. Herrin also wanted to emulate his big brother, Josh, who became one of the few Americans to have competed in MotoGP’s Moto2 World Championships at a professional level.
“I was able to follow in [Josh’s] footsteps to determine what it would take to get to these levels,” Herrin says. “And my parents knew what it would take, as well, which ultimately led me to achieve that goal to start racing professionally at 16.”
Not long after taking the leap into the professional world, however, Herrin couldn’t deny there was “something different” about him, and something he’d never allowed himself to focus on while he’d kept his sights on his racing goals.
“I had this part of my identity that I was just kind of pushing to the side,” he said. “The motorsports industry can be pretty one sided at times, not very welcoming to all topics of gender, religion, sexuality, whatever it may be. It’s pretty much, ‘This is it, this is what motorsports is and what it’s supposed to be. If you don’t fit in, get out.’”
Although he’s long known NASCAR and its fans skew very conservative, Herrin slowly realized he wasn’t compatible with the closet.
“[Coming out] ultimately led me to walk away from everything we had worked toward,” he said. “I had felt happier making that decision. I was able to come out to my family and friends. And through this period, I’ve been able to grow this part of my identity, trying to express myself and how I want to be perceived in today’s world as a gay man.”
After nearly a decade away from the track, Herrin made his professional NASCAR debut in November. At the time, what was meant to be a multi-season partnership with a big brand fell through, taking him from multiple races to almost none in a blink, which left him feeling more than a little discouraged.
For the new season, Herrin teamed up with Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national LGBTQ+ legal organization. Herrin initially reached out to the CEO, Kevin Jennings, who was reluctant at first about sponsoring him. Herrin stayed in contact, particularly tracking the work Lambda was doing to fight against Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill, which severely limits the discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in the state’s public schools. When Jennings discovered the first race of the season was in Florida — at the legendary Daytona International Speedway — he agreed to team up with Herrin and make a bold statement — showcasing one of NACAR’s only out drivers at one of the biggest races of the year in a state fighting against LGBTQ+ rights. On his uniform and car, Herrin proudly wore the Lambda Legal logo and spoke to media about Lambda’s mission and the dangers of “don’t say gay.”
“Zach represents such a positive role model for the full participation of LGBTQ+ people in sports on the national stage, while our community is facing more than 300 unconstitutional legislative proposals across the country. While we aren’t disclosing the financial details of our partnership, we can say that even high-profile LGBTQ+ athletes unfortunately do need financial support to run their race…Partnering with Zach represents a priceless opportunity to reach the general public and help them understand the cost of these attacks from state legislators across the country. And we hope that LGBTQ+ Floridians — especially young people, who have been targeted by Florida’s notorious ‘don’t say gay or trans’ law and efforts to ban all gender-affirming care — will be proud to find themselves represented on the track at Daytona.”
Herrin is leaning into his role as a role model for young LGBTQ+ people, especially those trying to break through in industries historically hostile to the community.
“I’m learning the struggles of LGBTQ+ people within the motorsports industry in NASCAR that have always been here, but I’ve never been able to connect with them,” he says. “Hearing the challenges that they’ve faced when they’ve gone to a race in the past, and it was a terrible experience for them, and they haven’t gone back since.”
Herrin commends NASCAR as a brand and corporation for “doing the right things” as of late — last year the organization released Pride merch (“Yascar,” NASCAR’s account tweeted) — but he says it still has room to learn.
“I hope that with time, and maybe with me helping bridge this massive community now, that this [outreach] is going to continue,” he says.
“There has been an onslaught of attacks against our innocent children,” Kentucky state representative Lindsey Tichenor said as she put forth a bill banning drag performances to her state assembly.
She’s right about one thing. Our children are under attack, not from drag queens, though, but from hate and intolerance.
Another bill in Idaho would allow parents to be sued up to $10,000 for watching certain shows featuring “sexual content,” and many argue that the language wields a strategic undertone targeting drag shows. Both the Kentucky and Idaho bills have advanced out of committee, and momentum will likely carry them to their respective governor’s desks. In fact, a wave of Republican lawmakers introduced at least 26 bills to restrict drag events in 14 US states early in the 2023 legislative session.
Tennessee’s state legislature, however, moved the fastest.
On Thursday, March, Tennessee became the first state among the pack to sharply restrict drag performances. The state’s governor, Bill Lee, signed a bill banning the shows on public property and in places where minors could watch them. The bill, reading almost like a zoning law, prohibits drag performances within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, or places of worship. Violators face misdemeanor charges in the first instance, punishable by a fine up to $2,500 and/or up to a year in jail, with more severe consequences for repeat offenders.
Some suggest that maybe the law won’t be as far-reaching as the authors of these bills would hope, according to the A.C.L.U. of Tennessee. “The law bans obscene performances, and drag performances are not inherently obscene,” Stella Yarbrough, the legal director of the A.C.L.U. of Tennessee, said in a statement.
The Tennessee bill defines drag performers as “male or female impersonators.” It’s this imprecise language that has civil rights leaders also concerned. It’s part of a subtle and sinister way to criminalize further just being trans, some suggest. What defines drag? Who will define a male or female impersonator? Will people be arrested for just walking down the street for being trans next? These are important questions that the Tennessee bill leaves open for contemplation, leaving the safety of our LGBTQ+ community up for debate.
“Perhaps it’s easier to make drag the bogeyman, because it’s seen as a profession,” San Francisco cabaret artist and performer Ryan Patrick Welsh (he/she/they) said. “It’s easier to attack a profession than it is to attack people, but actually nevermind we’re actually seeing both happen,” Ryan Patrick continued.
Making the anti-drag and anti-trans linkage even more apparent, Tennessee governor Bill Lee also recently signed separate legislation that bans transgender minors in Tennessee from receiving gender-affirming care like puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery. As Tennessee demonstrates the possible, there’s a dam of other restrictions to our civil rights ready to be unleashed, many fear.
“Also, it has nothing to do with kids,” Ryan Patrick continued. As a key member of the Baloney crew, known for powerful vocal performances and gender-bending dance moves, Ryan Patrick says, “My shows aren’t for kids,” Ryan Patrick says. “But these parents who argue they’re protecting their kids are using their kids as a shield for their transphobic ideas. It’s they themselves that don’t want to see drag. That’s what’s really going on.”
One hundred fifty years ago in San Francisco, Ryan Patrick’s performance would have been illegal. In 1863, as part of a broad anti-indecency campaign, San Francisco adopted a law that criminalized any person appearing in “dress not belonging to his or her sex.” In other words, anti-drag legislation isn’t new. The good news is that we’ve seen these sorts of attacks on our community before. These laws historically haven’t stood the test of time. We know how to mobilize and fight back just like the times before.
World Athletics will ban trans women who have been through puberty from female competitions.
The governing body’s president, Sebastian Coe, said on Thursday afternoon (23 March) that “transgender athletes should not be competing in the female category”.
Coe stated at a press conference in Monaco that trans women who transitioned after puberty “will not be allowed to participate in women’s events” from 31 March – Transgender Day of Visibility.
Current rules allow trans women to compete if their testosterone level is sufficiently suppressed.
However, Coe said: “Where the science is insufficient to justify maintaining testosterone suppression for transgender athletes, the council agreed it must be guided by our overarching principle, which is to protect the female category.
“We cannot in all conscience leave our transgender regulations as they were at five nanomoles per litre for at least one year when we were unsure about the impact of doing so across all our disciplines. So we need to know more and we need to know more now.”
The decision to exclude trans women came after a consultation which included 40 member federations, athletes and trans organisations.
Coe said: “The majority of those consulted stated that transgender athletes should not be competing in the female category.
“Many believe there is insufficient evidence that trans women do not retain advantage over biological women, and want more evidence that any physical advantages have been ameliorated before they are willing to consider an option for inclusion into the female category.”
He added that in order to conduct further research into its transgender eligibility guidelines, World Athletics will establish a working groups which will aim to “consult specifically with transgender athletes to seek views on competing in athletics” and to “review and maybe commission” additional research.
The working group will be comprised of an independent chair, “up to three council members”, two athletes from the Athletes Commission, a transgender athlete from athletics, three representatives of non-member federations and representatives of the World Athletics Health and Science Department.
Alongside a ban on trans athletes, athletes deemed to have a so-called difference of sexual development (DSD) – will have their testosterone threshold reduced to 2.5 nanomoles per litre. The runner Caster Semenya has historically been excluded under DSD rules.
‘Exclusionary and discriminatory’
Inclusion of trans athletes in sport has been the source of much debate and moral hysteria in recent months, with many states in the US taking steps to ban trans people, including children, from taking part in sports.
Reaction to the news was swift on social media, with one user saying they “don’t want to see any pride-washing from World Athletics” after excluding trans athletes.
Another Twitter user described the move as “exclusionary and discriminatory policy based on artificial frenzy”.
Football v Transphobia campaign lead Natalie Washington said: “The real story with World Athletics is the switch to 2.5nmol/L for athletes with sex variances.
“It’s a scandal. The trans ban affects no-one at present. The athletes with sex variances ban could affect hundreds, thousands of women.”
However, in dropping its own policy, the IOC encouraged individual sports to set their own rules. As a result, some have introduced strict rules effectively banning trans women, such as swimming body FINA.
A Vermont religious school that withdrew its girls’ basketball team from a playoff game because a transgender student was playing on the opposing team won’t be able to participate in future tournaments, the Vermont Principals’ Association announced Monday.
Mid Vermont Christian School, in White River Junction, forfeited the Feb. 21 game, saying that it believed that the transgender player “jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players.”
Mid Vermont Christian School.Google Maps
The executive council of the principals’ association, which is the governing body for Vermont school sports and activities for member schools, ruled that the school had violated policies and is ineligible to participate in future tournaments that it sanctions. The move applies to all sports.
“The VPA again reiterates its ongoing support of transgender student-athletes as not only a part of building an inclusive community for each student to grow and thrive, but also as a clear expectation by Vermont state law(s) in the Agency of Education Best Practices, and in VPA Policy regarding transgender student athletes,” the association said in a statement.
It sent a letter to the school saying that Mid Vermont did not meet the association’s policies on race, gender and disability awareness.
The school did not respond to an email requesting comment.
As soon as Team Trans’ hockey players first stepped onto the ice four years ago, they felt something life-changing. They’d found a family for life.
Mason LeFebvre joined Team Trans, an international collective of trans and non-binary hockey players, for its first event in Boston in November 2019. They played off against Boston Pride Hockey, an LGBTQ+ team that’s been around since the early 90s.
It meant to a lot to Mason, who’d been playing hockey since he was 10. Finally, he was “getting to play with other people who had similar experiences”.
“Up to that point in my life, I’d only ever played with, as far as I was aware, cis people,” he tells PinkNews. “It was just about wanting to have that experience, to get to know other trans hockey players, because I hadn’t been able to do that.”
Goalie Mason LeFebvre says he never experienced the “concept of found family” until he joined Team Trans. (Ian DeGraff/Ian Steven Photography)
Team Trans primarily plays internal draft tournaments all over North America, with all-trans teams playing against each other.
It relies on donations to fund travel and hosting events. The National Hockey League (NHL) is a supporter, both financially and vocally, defending the club on social media from bigotry.
Having begun as a collective of a few players, it has over the years involved hundreds of players, who’ve formed tight bonds.
“I hadn’t experienced the concept of found family until I joined Team Trans, and now my found family is a couple hundred people strong,” Mason says. “I’ve invited these players to come stay with me in my house for a weekend at events we’re hosting or just an open ended invitation in general.”
When they’re together, Mason says, it “almost doesn’t matter” that they’re trans – they can simply exist as people. That 2019 event sparked a deep love within him for Team Trans, and he stuck with the club for years, eventually joining its board.
Mason LeFebvre and Danny Maki say they found a network of friends through Team Trans. (Ian DeGraff/Ian Steven Photography)
Danny Maki grew up in a “hockey family”. He started skating at age 2 – his parents tried to put figure skates on him, but he “absolutely hated them” – he wanted to play hockey like his older brothers.
They joined Team Trans through a hockey community in Minnesota after being off the ice for about 10 years.
“It was amazing, especially because when I joined I was already going through a hard time, and I didn’t have any trans friends that I could reach out to,” Danny says. “I was like hockey has always been good for me. I’ll start doing that again.”
Danny ended up becoming the vice president of the Twin Cities chapter. It’s “opened up possibilities for meeting tons of people” and “going places” that he never thought of before.
The locker room is often a serious obstacle for trans people, and Danny says one of his favourite things is being able to be comfortable with others in such a space.
“I drove together with one person to Toronto, and she’s never been able to show in the locker room before,” Maki says.
“She was able to do that without worry, and I was able to do that because nobody’s gonna care what I look like naked. Nobody gives a s**t, and just the general joy of – we didn’t do super well in Toronto – of still having fun.”
Mason LeFebvre says it was “powerful” to connect with the NHL because it made him realise “what an impact” Team Trans has “just by existing”. (Ian DeGraff/Ian Steven Photography)
There’s been some sadly predictable backlash to Team Trans, and Danny was mentioned in a few articles after getting injured on the ice. The headlines ran with the usual anti-trans voices disparaging trans inclusion in sports.
Danny describes these “nasty articles” as “absolute rubbish” that is “putting a target on us”. However, they fuel him to “keep pushing forward and keep representing the possibilities for trans individuals”.
“I imagine a young trans kid who loves hockey, they could see that we as Team Trans exist and will be available to them once they turn 18 (as of our policies right now),” they say.
“This negative media, as cruddy and at times hurtful as it is, will not stop me from playing the sport I love and the sport that has kept me alive more times than I like to admit.”
Mason feels the same – he’s energised too by the support and love coming from within the community and allies.
One of his highlights was received an email from the NHL, which wanted to film a Team Trans event he recalls thinking: “Holy s**t.”
“That was one of the most powerful things because it helped me realise what an impact we can and are having just by existing and showing there are more than just the 16 of us that originally showed up in Boston.”
I’m a teacher and writer, loves of mine since I was six. I went to film school to study storytelling, media violence, its effects on society, and root causes of real-life violence and crime. This research guides my values, civic engagement, and work in our classrooms.
I was born in Midwest City—where my mother lives as a retired registered nurse—and I’ve lived in OKC’s historic Paseo neighborhood since 2010, serving in Oklahoma City Public Schools at Jefferson Middle School as an AVID college preparation teacher, where I helped students strengthen their reading, writing, group work, organization, and critical thinking skills. The same year I started teaching with OKCPS in 2015, Mayor Mick Cornett appointed me to serve on OKC’s Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA) Board of Trustees.
As a transit trustee, I learned 79 percent of OKC’s roads ranked as “poor or mediocre condition.” Two years after my appointment, I wrote an editorial for NonDoc, asking my OKC neighbors to vote “yes” on our 2017 general obligation (GO) bond package and MAPS 3 penny sales tax extension. GO bond votes occur only every 10 years, offering a rare opportunity for residents to invest our property taxes into city infrastructure—including rebuilding crumbling streets—so students, workers, and seniors can move safely around our neighborhoods and city. This investment is important because, otherwise, OKC relies on sales tax as our primary funding source. Together with the extension of MAPS 3’s 2009 temporary penny sales tax, we called this election Better Streets, Safer City.
With the NonDoc editorial, I argued Better Streets would put our people to work, investing in critical infrastructure improvements for our streets, sidewalks, bridges, bike lanes, libraries, drainage system, public transportation system, parks and recreational facilities, our civic center, our downtown arena, our fire and police-training facilities, our traffic control system, and our city maintenance facilities. These investments, I wrote, strengthen our city, improving our residents’ quality of life.
Voters agreed, approving nearly $800 million in historic street improvements and other infrastructure projects, including our upcoming Bus Rapid Transit service.
Starting Fall 2023, Northwest Rapid will provide public transportation from covered bus stations every 15-20 minutes—7 days a week—for the first time in OKC’s history. This service builds on OKC’s past, running from downtown along our old streetcar route on Classen Boulevard, travelling west on NW Expressway, and turning around at Expressway and Meridian at a new park-and-ride near Lake Hefner.
2017’s Better Streets, Safer City also includes revitalization of Ward 2’s historic Belle Isle Library, $10 million in attainable, affordable, median-income housing for our city’s workforce, and streetscape improvements for historic commercial corridors such as Paseo, Uptown 23rd District, 39th Street District.
The next year in 2018, I fought for and worked with my transit board to provide Sunday bus service from our annual budget for the first time since the 1964 Voting Rights and 1965 Civil Rights Acts. On five bus routes, we added our city’s first night service til midnight.
A mid-level professional ice hockey team in Illinois has released a player who posted a string of disgusting, anti-LGBTQ+ tweets.
And the player Louie Rowe has retweeted numerous more messages since he was let go by ECHL outfit the Peoria Rivermen, accusing LGBTQ+ people of grooming and raping children, as well as using them as prostitutes.
Rivermen co-owner Bart Rogers told the Lincoln Journal Star: “We are shocked, and we have immediately released Louie Rowe.”
Rowe’s retweets targeted LGBTQ+ people, calling them peadophiles, and trans people, who were labelled mentally ill.
In addition to anti-LGBTQ+ tweets, Rowe’s Twitter includes messages demonising other minority groups.
Rowe retweeted messages supporting the likes of anti-trans, right-wing media pundit Jordan Peterson, as well as anti-vax conspiracy theories and statements from infamous social media account LibsOfTikTok, which rabidly attacks LGBTQ+ educators and drag venues.
On 12 January, another mid-level pro hockey team, the Kalamazoo Wings, sent a response to a Twitter user who said they were no longer going to attend games after the team released a rainbow logo on social media as part of a Pride Night event for LGBTQ+fans.
In response to the Wings’ message, Rowe wrote on Twitter: “I knew the Kwings were soft but I didn’t know they were gay, trans and soft.”
He went on to respond with an image that called Pride flags a “mental illness flag.” He also tweeted: “Imagine marketing towards the bottom of the barrel of society LMAO… what’s next? Felony offender night?”
Others took to Twitter to voice their disgust at Rowe’s comments, with one person writing: “Embarrassed that this guy ever put on a @FWKomets Sweater.”
Another person wrote: “What a turd. Enjoy the beer league hockey career – take the L – loser !!”
The Riverman’s co-owner, Bart Rogers, added: “Our organisation does not condone that language, nor do we support that point of view or behaviour. Those things do not represent the beliefs of our team, our partners nor our fans, nor the great sport we play. It does not represent the values of our organisation’.”
