Kye Allums, Transgender George Washington University Basketball Player, Takes The Court

On Monday, George Washington University junior Kye Allums came out publicly as the first openly transgender man to play on a Division 1 basketball team. Allums, who started identifying as a male during his sophomore year, is still biologically a female, and so will be able to continue playing on the women's team -- and to hold on to his scholarship.

The New York Times reports on Allums' transition:

Earlier this year, the university changed the roster published on its Web site to reflect Allums's name change, from Kay-Kay to Kye, and future references will use male pronouns.

He noted that he was biologically identical to any other female, but said, "I just would prefer for people to call me a he."

Allums told Outsports that he was pleasantly surprised by the support of his team, and especially of his coach: "Everybody's pretty much accepting of everyone on the team. Everybody is different. We're teammates, we're like family. It's a bunch of brothers and sisters. Everybody brings their life and issues to the family."

In a statement, Allum's coach Mike Bozeman said that "George Washington University women's basketball program, including myself, support Kye's right to make this decision."

For the most part, National Collegiate Athletic Association teams follow conduct outlined by a report released last month by the National Center for Lesbian Rights. On The Team: Equal Opportunity for Transgender Student Athletes, offers guiding principles and policy recommendations for high schools and colleges. The report emphasizes the need for transgender athletes to have the opportunity to play free from discrimination, and warns that an environment that is not friendly to trans students can harm all members of the team.

Has your school made efforts to be a safe space for trans-students? Let us know in comments.

Comments

[deoppressed]

02:02 PM on 11/29/2010

How does Kye actually know since Kye has never been a man?

[Paul Finley]

08:04 PM on 11/20/2010

I'm hilarious!, seen this coming

[Roger Sun]

10:35 AM on 11/12/2010

I accept Kye's gender identification, but the ambiguity should in no way exonerate him from striving for excellence. The only problem is: what standard of excellence? The athletic performance gap between men and women is well-known and incorrigible. Take the Presidential Challenge test for high schoolers: For 16 year olds, 45 curl-ups puts you in the 85th percentile for women, but only in the 50th for men. (Source: http://www.djusd.k12.ca.us/CesarChavez/shunt/documents/Presidentialchallengetest.pdf)

We have these different leagues for a reason: so that women don't get washed out of the scoreboards. If gender is so fungible, and we are philosophically opposed to gender differences, why not simply unify the divisions?

[dbmetzger]

01:56 PM on 11/08/2010

Transgender College Athlete Confronts Publicity
A female-to-male transgender member of the George Washington University women's basketball team wants to be identified as a man this season. Kye Allums is believed to be the first openly transgender NCAA Division I college basketball player. http://www.newslook.com/videos/263278-transgender-college-athlete-confronts-publicity?autoplay=true

[jnorr993]

12:30 AM on 11/04/2010

This is absurd. Regardless of anyone conceding to call HER a he for ridiculous political correctness reasons, she will always be a SHE. However, I breathe a sigh of relief to know that SHE won't lose her scholarship as a result of this "confusion." SHE knows she couldn't play for the men's team and keep that scholarship... she is having her cake and eating it too while everyone bows down to her every whim. What an ego.

[contradiction]

01:03 AM on 11/04/2010

Being brave enough to be honest with the public about who you are is commendable. I don't see you going around blatantly labeling yourself as a bigot despite obviously being one.

[carnitine]

12:46 PM on 11/18/2010

I would pefer people to call me the Living Tribunal(comic reference for those who get it)..oh wait you can't because I'm not. Are you a bigot because you won't recognize me as a cosmic entity?

[grjackson]

05:01 PM on 11/04/2010

Wow... jnorr993. How brutally uninformed you are.

[carnitine]

12:50 PM on 11/18/2010

Yes they are uniformed. They don't know the difference between a man and a woman.

[Omillio Jose]

06:39 PM on 11/03/2010

I have felt like a police officer since I was about 3 years old, is it okay If I go around arresting people and giving people tickets, even though I have never applied to be an officer?

[contradiction]

01:02 AM on 11/04/2010

I also suspect you've felt like a living human being for just as long, but if you run around making cold-hearted comments and disparaging others who differ from you, does it really make you human?

[LatinaLady81]

03:13 PM on 11/05/2010

is there an application for an assigned sex at birth? Last time I checked we socialize ourselves into gender roles based on perception of others. seek first to understand.

[grjackson]

03:37 PM on 11/03/2010

It's amazing to me how many posters here feel it's okay to be critical of Kye, his decision, the decision of sports associations, other posters, and on and on... without having the courtesy to spend five minutes informing themselves about opinions that differ from their own.

Reading the article in its entirety would be a good place to start. Reading the NCLR document that's referenced in the story would be even better.

[Swarthmoor]

06:26 PM on 11/03/2010

Gr,

If you train your pet parrot to call itself an "ostrich," it doesn't make Polly a large flightless bird. Kay is a woman who chooses to call herself a "man." That does not mean SHE is what SHE claims.

[grjackson]

05:08 PM on 11/04/2010

Interesting analogy. Who is it exactly that 'trained' Kye? What did you think of the NCLR document? Are you what/who you claim to be, or are your claims up for grabs too?

I get that the idea of gender being a social construction is complex and something that takes most of us - myself included - quite a while to grasp. However, being open to the idea helps, and being open to this particular idea might result in a number of people who suffer abuse and marginalization being able to live much more happily. Is that something to which you're opposed?

[Disputed Leech]

12:27 PM on 11/09/2010

KYE, is female, but identifies as a man. HE is probably working on HIS transition. That means HE is working to become legally and physically male.
Perhaps you need to understand, gender and sex are two different things.

[Swarthmoor]

01:31 PM on 11/03/2010

What i don't understand here is how can there be sex discrimination in sports in the first place. In an age in which women are demanding "equality," why can't men play on the women's teams? Other than blatant sexual discrimination, what is the rationale that men can't play in the WNBA or on the women's teams in the NCAA, for instance? Just curious, are male reporters allowed into women's locker rooms, and if not what's the reason?

[Horatio]

04:01 AM on 11/03/2010

A true American role model.

[Dr Carol LaBra]

02:06 AM on 11/03/2010

! agree with the blogger but my prior 4 replies have not been allowed to be posted by the censors. Does anyone know why they are so terrified of an open expression of ideas or why they are paid so much or volunteer to keep freedom of speech from being practiced? For the repression of statements that agree with what has already been said is almost as dangerous as stifling dissent and asserting everything is wonderful.

[sandoodle]

12:56 AM on 11/03/2010

He's really cute (great smile) and it's great to hear about a positive supportive reaction from his teammates and coach. Best of luck to him!

[RusStyles]

12:25 AM on 11/03/2010

If he's going to live in every way as a man, he should play with the men. He certainly looks all man. I must say, it's great to see he's being supported by his teammates, coaches, and I assume his fellow students. ANother positive sign that we've made progress as it relates to accepting people as they are...

[Brandi Douglas]

10:37 AM on 11/03/2010

Gender is what's between your ears (woman, man) and sex is what's between your legs (female, male). There is a difference.

[Yam716]

12:56 PM on 11/03/2010

It's too much for small minds, such as mine, to digest.

I feel my gender and sex is woman/female.

Does what you said apply to ALL people? Or just the trans or homosexual community?

It's so confusing to me!

[Joe in Vegas]

12:04 AM on 11/03/2010

What if it was the other way around? It would probably be a bigger deal to some. Just saying.

[kingstupka]

11:09 PM on 11/02/2010

Good for these kids for supporting their teammate!

[arimoore]

10:31 PM on 11/02/2010

Awesome! Good for Kye.

I hope this story encourages people who don't understand trans issues to educate themselves a bit. I'm glad to see this covered here on Huffington Post.

[Klous]

10:38 PM on 11/02/2010

I must respectfully ask what in the name of GOD is a trans issue?!?

[Disputed Leech]

12:17 PM on 11/09/2010

Many people do not know or understand that there are transgendered people in the world. Most schools, work places, and services do not have any kind of protection for these people.
At my school, we use blackboard, they have it to where it displays my full name, I can't change it, they won't change it until I legally change my name. I have to room with women in the dorms when I identify as a man.
If I were trying to get a job, I would not have any protection against any kind of discrimination due to my gender identity. I could even be fired because of it.

[arimoore]

09:10 PM on 11/09/2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender