Trey Kay, Emily Haavik Published

Us & Them Encore: The Right To Compete

Listen

At least 20 states have laws banning transgender girls and women from competing on girls and women’s sports teams. 

In this encore episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay looks at the battle over gender and sports. Kay talks with transgender athletes who say they want to be who they truly are as they compete on the playing field. 

We hear from a state lawmaker who says the new laws are not anti-trans, but rather designed to protect girls and women from unfair competition playing against transgender athletes. 

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling allows a transgender girl in West Virginia to compete on her middle school girls team for now, while a state lawsuit continues. 

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation and the CRC Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

A young man in an orange shirt and khaki shorts faces the camera with a soft smile. He wears glasses and has a trimmed beard.
Taylor Edelmann was a transgender athlete when he was a student at SUNY Purchase. He played from 2009 to 2013. At first, Taylor competed on the women’s volleyball team. Then, he transitioned to the men’s squad.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A photograph of a newspaper clipping.
Newspaper clipping of Taylor Edelmann has a high school volleyball standout.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Trey Kay and Taylor Edelmann sit on a couch in an interview. A painting of flowers is on the wall behind them.
Taylor Edelmann speaks with Us & Them host Trey Kay in the home where he grew up.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A woman with dark hair and wearing glasses speaks into a microphone on the West Virginia Senate floor.
Patricia Rucker is a state senator for West Virginia’s 16th District. She co-sponsored a bill in 2021 that is now law in West Virginia. It bans transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams. Specifically, it limits girls sports to individuals “whose biological sex determined at birth is female.” The law applies to public school and collegiate athletes.

Credit: Will Price/WV Legislative Photography
A man in business casual dress sits at a desk smiling at the camera.
Terry Schilling is president of American Principles Project. He says they work to pass laws that “protect and strengthen families, and protect the innocence of children.” Schilling says American Principles Project has a SuperPAC that runs campaign ads for and against candidates based on their record for “protecting or hurting families.” Schilling believes there is a transgender agenda — which he calls “transgenderism” — and he believes that it’s hurting American families.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Two women athletes practice on a field.
Erica Smith and her Sweet Briar College field hockey and lacrosse teammate Ashley Maggiora are going through their summer workout.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Two women sit on a bench laughing.
Erica Smith and Ashley Maggiora take a break after practicing lacrosse passing.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Tags Related to This Article

Related News

Arts & Culture Bill Lynch +,

Lou Turner And Little Jimmy Dickens, Inside Appalachia

This week, a poet and musician draws inspiration from a distant family connection to the Grand Ole Opry’s Little Jimmy Dickens. Also, for 15 years, a Virginia library has been hosting a weekly Dungeons & Dragons game for teens. And, a taxidermist in Yadkin County, North Carolina found her calling before she could drive a car.

Continue Reading Take Me to More News
Arts & Culture WVPB Staff,

State Employee Pay Raises And Little Jimmy Dickens, This West Virginia Morning

A lot of people who came of age listening to the Grand Ole Opry know Little Jimmy Dickens. With his clever songs and his rhinestone-studded outfits, the West Virginia native influenced a generation of performers. Now he’s remembered in a new book of poetry.

Continue Reading Take Me to More News
Government Trey Kay,

Us & Them: 2025 — Changing Definitions, Upending Institutions

For some Americans, this year’s political earthquakes hit close to home. Trey Kay reflects on federal budget cuts, the elimination of programs and agencies and the resulting layoffs of hundreds of thousands of workers. 2025 was also a year highlighting escalated immigration enforcement, and the deployment of National Guard troops in U.S. cities. One of those missions resulted in the tragic loss of a West Virginia National Guard soldier. On this end-of-year episode of Us & Them, we examine how today’s culture-war battles are reshaping the nation’s foundation.

Continue Reading Take Me to More News
Arts & Culture WVPB Staff,

Latest ‘Us & Them’ Reflects On 2025, This West Virginia Morning

Federal funding for arts and culture has been curtailed. Trey Kay looks at the reasons in the latest Us & Them. Also, the state board of education has approved another round of school closures and consolidations, the state Legislature is expected to take up several bills in the coming session to address foster care and children who are homeless, and U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom was laid to rest Tuesday at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton.

Continue Reading Take Me to More News