A growing number of transgender softball players want the Gay Softball World Series moved out of Texas to protest Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s order against sex-change operations for children, a league manager said this week.
Brittney Miller, who has played 11 years in the league and manages the Puget Sound Pronouns, wrote in a Tuesday op-ed for Outsports.com that the league should change the location of this summer’s game from Dallas to a location to be named later.
In an executive order issued last week, Mr. Abbott directed state officials to investigate possible abuse by parents who allow hormone therapy and other gender-transition treatments for their children.
The order, which a judge blocked partially this week pending legal challenges, calls upon state officials to impose “criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse.”
Ms. Miller argues in the op-ed that the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA), the nonprofit sponsor of the softball championship, should have issued the following statement immediately following the governor’s announcement:
“Due to Texas’ cruel mandate to criminalize gender-affirming care for trans youth, NAGAAA has made the decision to relocate the 2022 Gay Softball World Series to another location, to be announced at a later date,” she wrote.
She wrote that if the MLB could move the World Series out of Atlanta, the NAGAAA could move the Gay Softball World Series out of Texas, making a statement by withdrawing an estimated $5 million to $7 million in commerce from Dallas.
As of Thursday morning, the NAGAAA had not made a statement on the Texas mandate.
The league did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
NAGAAA, which describes itself in a recent news release as a partner of Major League Baseball, says on its website that it represents 17,000 players from 46 North American cities.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.