Political Analyst Clancy DuBos
Houma Representative Beryl Amadee files a bill to bar transgender athletes from participating in girl’s or women’s sports at public schools. House Bill 542 mirrors several other laws introduced across the country by Republican legislators. Political Analyst Clancy DuBos said it has a good chance of passing.
“Because the legislature is very conservative, but this goes beyond conservative, this is really picking on a very small minority of people in Louisiana, said DuBos.
According to The Advocate when questioned how many transgender athletes would be affected by the bill, Amadee was not able to cite an example of where transgender participation created a problem. DuBos said the bill is not relevant to this session.
In 2017, the city of New Orleans and the state benefited financially after the NBA moved the All-Star Game and its festivities to the Crescent City when North Carolina passed an anti-transgender bathroom bill in 2016, taking the big event from the city of Charlotte. That bill was later repealed.
Now, New Orleans could be on the opposite side of that as the NCAA put out a statement on Monday - ahead of the start of the 2021 Legislative Session - in support of transgender athletes. The NCAA Board of Governors statement said they will only host events in places that are safe, healthy and free of discrimination and indicated that they “will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participants.”