Michigan Lawmaker Claims High School Transgender Player Was Eligible Without Providing Evidence

The Ann Arbor Skyline girls volleyball team saw its season come to an end on Nov. 18 with a loss in the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division I quarterfinals against Byron Center. But the story is far from over for a team that rostered a trans-identifying biological male throughout the season, including during its run through the state tournament. 

While the MHSAA allows trans-identifying males to compete in girls sports with an approved waiver, the organization has never provided proof that such a waiver exists for Skyline. OutKick exclusively confirmed the presence of a trans-identifying male on the Skyline team back in September. 

The organization said in September that it had not granted any waivers since last fall (waivers have to be approved every year), but has ignored multiple follow-up requests asking if one has since been granted. OutKick is not the only entity seeking clarification from the MHSAA. 

On Nov. 17, 14 members of the Michigan House of Representatives sent a letter to the MHSAA demanding to see the transgender participation waiver for Skyline. The politicians claim that several MHSAA schools requested proof that such a waiver exists, but never received it. 

"Our understanding is that despite multiple formal inquiries from member schools, the Association has not confirmed that these required materials are on file," the letter states. 

Where is the Proof? 

Rep. Donni Steele (R-Orion Twp.) spoke to OutKick and said that while the MHSAA executive director, Mark Uyl, wouldn't speak with her directly, a lobbyist did (on his behalf). According to Steele, the lobbyist said that "according to [MHSAA] guidelines that they don't have to release these documents until after the season is over." 

Thus, whether the document actually exists is still up for debate. Despite that, Michigan Rep. Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) claimed on Fox Detroit that "every student athlete that played in this tournament was MHSAA eligible and that's all the information that really needs to be released." 

OutKick reached out to Rheingans to ask if she had seen the waiver and could confirm, with evidence, that all Skyline players were eligible to compete. She did not respond to our request. 

Why won’t Rheingans explain how she knows with certainty and show evidence that all players were eligible since she stated that as indisputable fact during a television interview? Did the MHSAA provide her with the documentation while refusing to turn it over to OutKick or Michigan House Republicans?

But Rheingans wasn't done. She also made inaccurate and inflammatory remarks about Republicans and about me.

Michigan Lawmaker Makes Outrageous Claims

"It's really kind of shocking to me that lawmakers would be asking a statewide agency to violate federal privacy laws," Rheingans said of the letter sent to the MHSAA by Steele and her colleagues. 

To correct the record here, Michigan Reps. are not asking the MHSAA to violate privacy laws. No one, OutKick included, has asked the organization to provide documentation with personally identifiable information (PII). We have simply asked that they show documentation that Ann Arbor Skyline requested, and was approved for, a transgender participation waiver for girls volleyball, per MHSAA policy. 

OutKick has never once named or shown pictures of the trans-identifying student-athlete because the athlete is believed to be a minor. Nowhere in the letter written by Michigan Republicans does it name the student or ask the MHSAA to do so. 

"I believe in federalism… if it’s our organization and these are the requirements which a state organization is requesting, I don’t understand her complaint. It doesn’t make sense to me," Steele said of Rheingans claims. 

Then Rheingans turned her attention to me. 

"I think it's disgusting that a right-wing influencer, a middle-aged man, flew across multiple states to record a girls volleyball team in their short shorts and post videos and things online. For the Epsteinth time, Republicans need to stop being obsessed with girls and kids," Rheingans said. 

Michigan Rep. Carrie Rheingans claimed, without evidence, that every player (including a trans-identified male) on the Skyline girls volleyball team was eligible under MHSAA policy.

(FOX 2 DETROIT & OUTKICK)

In our request to Rheingans, we also asked her about these comments. 

"During the segment, you described me as a ‘right-wing influencer… obsessed with girls and kids’ and suggested conduct commonly used to impugn someone’s motives near minors. That insinuation is false and damaging. I am a reporter covering a matter of public policy and athletic eligibility. Will you clarify or retract those remarks? If you stand by them, please provide the factual basis for implying predatory intent." 

Rheingans did not respond. 

Rheingans Attempts Classic Distraction Tactics

Her comments were similar to the ones I received from online trolls during my reporting. It's as if there's a playbook they all use and I would like to note that this is an all-too-common tactic used by those on the left. 

Rheingans, and critics like her, are intent on attacking me personally. Why? Because they know that their position is indefensible. They want males to be allowed in girls sports, bathrooms and locker rooms. That's ludicrous and I suspect they know it. 

So, rather than try and defend a reality-denying, anti-science, anti-common sense position, they come after people like me with character assaults. They also pretend not to understand things because it hurts their narrative. 

For example, Rheingans calls me a "right-wing influencer" when I am a reporter and journalist. This is a blatant attempt to tear down my credentials. She refers to me as middle-aged; I'm 36. She claims that I "flew across multiple states to record a girls volleyball team in their short shorts and post videos and things online." 

Actually, my company (which pays me to be a reporter) flew me across multiple states to report on a story because we weren't getting any answers from afar. I wasn't there to "record a girls volleyball team in their short shorts." I was there to do my job and to try and talk to parents, administrators and policy-makers about why Skyline was allowed to roster a trans-identifying male on its girls volleyball team. 

It’s amazing to me that the person fighting so hard for a teenage boy to share a locker room with girls is essentially accusing the person exposing the injustice as the pervert here. Rheingans, according to her bio, has a five-year-old daughter. I wonder if she'll have different thoughts when her own child is forced to share a locker room with a boy. 

Ultimately, she's trying to distract from the issue. Pay no attention to the trans-identifying male behind the curtain and look over here! She's also trying to get us to stop reporting on the topic. Why? Is she worried about what we might discover? That's for her to answer. Unfortunately, she didn't want to explain her motives, even though she gleefully attempted to frame mine. 

Back to the Policy Issues

Fairness, safety and privacy for girls and women are at the heart of this issue. Democrats like Rheingans don't want to be seen as anti-woman (even though their policy positions clearly are), so they attempt to distract. 

Steele noted to OutKick that allowing trans-identified males in girls spaces is a clear violation of Title IX. 

"What [the MHSAA] end up doing is eliminating women’s rights in the process of giving biological males more rights… we’re discriminating against women’s opportunity to play… safety… [and] compete on a fair level… I believe that [the MHSAA] should do what’s right and what’s fair," Steele said. 

"One [trans-identified male on a girls team] is too many, and it sets a precedent… If you were to take a poll across the United States, 80% of the people… agree that this isn’t right," Steele said. 

Unlike Rheingans, Steele is factually accurate. Poll after poll shows that Americans (including Democrats) overwhelmingly reject the idea of allowing males in female-only sports. The only people still clinging to this radical ideology are the ones who are the real threat to girls and women in America.