NCAA, leaders are deliberately turning a blind eye to injustices in women's sports

Track and field college athlete Chelsea Mitchell and ADF general counsel Kristen Waggoner join ‘America Reports’ to respond to the NCAA's revised transgender participation policy.

They used to call me "the fastest girl in Connecticut." But I couldn’t outrun an injustice.

For four years, I competed as a high school runner and made it to the state championships every one of those years. But in my junior year, I lost four of the state titles I earned to males who identified as females.

NCAA 'ISN’T PROTECTING WOMEN' AMID TRANSGENDER PARTICIPATION POLICY, FEMALE ATHLETE SAYSThey give awards based on who wins—typically the person with the strongest muscles, the greatest lung power, the fastest speed—not based on how a person identifies. At the end of the race, it’s about biology, not gender identity. And no amount of testosterone suppression can change a male’s innate physical advantages, like bone structure and muscle mass.

Chelsea Mitchell, age 16 (11th grade), at the Connecticut State Open Championship on June 3, 2019.   (Christy Mitchell)

And fast as I am, I can’t outrun those advantages. Or the injustice that protects them.For saying that out loud, I’ve been branded by some as a sore loser and a hater. But what I object to has nothing to do with hate.

Chelsea Chelsea Mitchell is a college sophomore and track athlete. She is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom. (Alliance Defending Freedom)

Female athletes like me make a ton of sacrifices to compete—working tirelessly to shave fractions of seconds off our personal times and giving up what many would consider the "normal" teenage life by watching what we eat, skipping parties for practice, going to bed early to get up early and practice yet again. It becomes almost