‘I don’t have an issue with it’: Team owner supports trans athletes
· Yahoo Sports
While much of the controversy surrounding transgender athletes has centered on the WNBA following Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments about the issue, one team owner in another women’s sport is now speaking out on the issue.
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League One Volleyball, known as LOVB, is a women’s professional league in the United States that says it will expand by four teams for its third season, adding Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minnesota and Miami. A co-founder and co-owner of one of those teams says that she does not have a problem with a transgender player competing in the league.
‘I don’t have a problem with it’
The San Francisco Signal is a new franchise for LOVB that is set to begin play in 2027. During a recent interview with right-wing sports blog OutKick, Chantell Preston, a co-founder and co-owner of the incoming franchise, was asked whether or not she opposed transgender women competing in the league and on the team.
“I’m not exactly sure what League One Volleyball’s policy is on that,” Preston said. “All I know is that we’re going to go after the best players.”
According to OutKick, Preston initially described the issue as a “minute” one, given that there are very few transgender athletes at any level of sports throughout the entire country. OutKick says that it responded by saying that eligibility is the first question organized sports must answer, then asked whether males who identify as transgender should compete in women’s sports.
“I don’t have an issue with it as long as it’s within certain boundaries,” she said via OutKick. “I think that there needs to be qualifications in regards to someone that plays. Do I have an issue with there being trans? It depends on the situation. I’m not really sure I have a position on it other than I think they should be able to play. Obviously there are certain requirements.”
Preston went on to express her support for transgender children and their parents, saying that causes her to look at the issue from a different perspective.
“My children are not trans, but I can only imagine as a parent what they’re going through,” Preston said. “So I think we need to look at the subject in a little different lens.”
Preston did make it clear that her views were personal and did not represent LOVB or the San Francisco Signal.
USA Volleyball Policy
As for LOVB’s gender policy, the league said that it defers to USA Volleyball’s policies and guidelines when determining eligibility.
“LOVB follows the policies and guidelines established by USA Volleyball (USAV) regarding athlete eligibility and participation,” a LOVB spokesperson said. “We operate in accordance with the standards set by our sport’s governing body.”
USA Volleyball’s written policy says its athletes are expected to compete according to the gender assigned at birth on their birth certificate, which would prohibit transgender women from competing.
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