Trans athletes are athletes. Let them play.

Graphic: Forrester Toews/The Griff.

In Oct. 2024, a fourth NCAA women’s volleyball team forfeited their match against San Jose State University (SJSU). The forfeits came after the gender identity of an SJSU player came into question due to rumours that she was a trans woman. Spread by far-right websites, these claims robbed the SJSU volleyball squad of competing in the sport they love. As American political narrative leaked into Alberta’s UCP government, they passed Bill 29 in Dec. 2024, banning transgender women from playing in women’s leagues in Alberta. The Canadian Bar Association of Alberta says the bill “runs counter to the Alberta Human Rights Act”. But it still passed.

Recently, the Canadian Press reported that the UCP government would not be allowed to apply this bill to out of province athletes. This caveat made it possible for U Sports to continue running in this province. But the fact that Canada’s premiere university sports league could have lost some of its most storied programs is insane. Imagine a women’s soccer league without the MacEwan Griffins, who finished as last year’s second best team in the Canada West Prairie Division just because of a discriminatory bill that gives people the power to ban women from the sport they love. 

Transgender athletes are just athletes. There is no tracker of who identifies as trans and who doesn’t in U Sports because it doesn’t matter. Why should we “other” these incredible players who have worked their whole lives to get to this point? They are equal participants alongside fellow women in something that is important to them. Every other province in Canada does exactly what should be done: nothing. Sports leagues across this province didn’t ask for these rules. In an interview with the Canadian Press from July, the head of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference said, “This is not a concern. It’s not an issue.” Yet the Alberta government insists that there is an unfair advantage, which is simply not true. A study backed by the International Olympic Committee cautions against these types of exclusionary policies, because they are not based on sport-specific research. The general public needs to side with logic and knowledge, instead of talking heads and buzzwords. Enough with exclusion, let Canadian athletes be Canadian athletes. No matter who they are. 

Editor’s note July 25, 2025: We asked MacEwan for a statement on the matter, here’s what they said:

“MacEwan University is committed to ensuring campus is an inclusive and safe environment for everybody.

We are reviewing our internal policies to ensure we are in alignment with the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act (Bill 29).

We continue to gather information from our student-athletes as part of our existing policy, and we are determining whether changes are necessary to fully align with this legislation.

MacEwan will remain guided by the core values of Teaching Greatness, and we will ensure our athletic programs continue to reflect those principles.”