Transgender Athletes: Rights and Regulations in Sports Law

Abstract

The participation of transgender athletes in competitive sport has emerged as a major, hotly debated issue in sports law which clusters a number of interconnected concerns regarding fairness, equality and regulation. This is a review of the legal and ethical issues related to transgender in sports, including the current policies of international sports organizing bodies and national governing bodies, as well as recent judicial precedents. Critical to the debates are the debates over keeping the competition both inclusive and competitive (e.g., eligibility requirements, hormone regulations, and phenotypic advantages). The work also examines the effect of human rights legislation, including anti-discrimination laws, on sports rules. Through examination of case studies and developing legal standards, this Article underscores the difficulty of formulating fair policies and offers suggestions for regulatory directions that take into account both the rights of transgender people and the tenets of fair competition.