
This Guy’s About to Win Texas’ Girls Wrestling Championship Again, Thanks to Dumb State Rules
This weekend, trans male Texas high school student Mack Beggs will compete, just as he did last year, in the state girls wrestling championship. Even though he’s a female-to-male trans dude, Texas high school rules dictate that students must compete by the gender on their birth certificate. (The birth certificate of Mack Beggs still lists him as “female.”) Thus, Beggs is competing for the 110-pound girls title.
Beggs won the girls state championship last year, but his win came with some controversy. According to the Washington Post, Beggs was undefeated going into the championship. Before the championship, a father of a female competitor tried to sue to get Beggs not to compete. It didn’t work.
At the championship tournament, the crowd booed as Beggs competed. During his semifinal match, a coach asked, “If you really want to be a boy, why don’t you wrestle the boys?”
After his victory, the Texas Senate considered a law that would’ve allowed student athletes to be disqualified for steroid use if officials felt they risked safety and competitive fairness. Beggs takes .18 milliliters (36 milligrams) of steroids to stop his menstrual cycle and to grow body and facial hair. Comparatively, male bodybuilders take 500 to 1,000 milligrams of testosterone per week (along with various other steroids), meaning the steroids don’t contribute much to Beggs’ advantage, if at all.
Here is Mack Beggs discussing his 2017 champion bout:
Beggs’ mother said the University Interscholastic League (UIL), the entity that governs Texas public school athletics, required her son to compete as a female. The UIL has said that Beggs’ mom never submitted a request for him to wrestle against boys, but adds they’re willing to work with state lawmakers if they want to change UIL rules.
Texas law states that people can have the gender changed on their birth certificate if a court issues an order for the change of a person’s sex. However, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality, “current case law and evidence indicates that some Texas officials and judges are adverse to issuing the necessary court orders.”
Beggs remains undefeated this season. He is expected to win the championship easily. Afterwards, he will graduate and eventually have his “top surgery.” He’s also reportedly considering a college men’s wrestling scholarship offer.