Sports have been the center of the U.S social scene since the country was founded. Whether it is high school, college, or professional, sports have held the hearts of Americans.

Since the inception of sport in ancient history, there has been an uncountable number of shifts in rules, regulations, and dynamics within the sports world. One discussion that’s at the forefront in Iowa is the inclusion of transgender athletes.

Transgender women should be able to compete on women’s sports teams.

The main argument proponents of these laws argue that transgender women have an unfair advantage compared to cisgender women. However, this notion is not rooted in scientific findings.

The thought is transgender female athletes have a higher amount of testosterone which can give them an advantage, but this phenomenon is not limited to just transgender females. It is estimated that 10 percent of the cisgender female population also have an increased amount of testosterone due to a syndrome called polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Alternatively, many transgender females are on puberty blockers or hormones, which lower their amount of testosterone.

In a lawsuit in Connecticut from a family trying to ban transgender women from competing, one of the cisgender women from the lawsuit beat their transgender opponent in the state championship. This just goes to show that when transgender women are in sports, everyone still has a fair chance of winning.

Banning transgender women from women’s and girls’ sports would just add another barrier separating them from other women in their community. Along with this, some people are genetically predisposition to being athletes, no matter their gender.

This topic has created some buzz in Iowa recently due to a transgender athlete student ban that moved forward in an Iowa House committee. This ban would prohibit transgender women and girls from playing in any women’s sports team in both private and public Iowa schools.

Similar bans have been passed in ten other states. Twenty-three states have considered this ban, but these laws were not passed after debate in state government.

Some student-athletes support this bill, stating that having transgender girls on their teams could ruin sports for them as they would most likely have a physical advantage against cisgender girls.

On the opposition of this bill, many transgender female athletes have stepped up to speak on how important participating in sports is for them, and how denying transgender athletes a spot on a team is unfair and could have serious negative results on their mental and physical well-being.

Although our country has come a long way, transgender people still face institutional and legal barriers to enjoying the same rights as their cisgender peers. Having another obstacle for them to face, another way to single them out from everyone else, can only do more harm than good.

There are many factors that go into being an athlete. Transgender women should not be left out of a national activity due to factors that are beyond their control.

The transgender student-athlete ban being debated in the Iowa House should not be passed, as it would exclude a huge proportion of the country from a beloved pastime.

Columns reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, The Daily Iowan, or other organizations in which the author may be involved.