Team USA athlete protests transgender bill at Idaho rally

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A transgender athlete who competes for Team USA is calling Idaho's proposal to ban transgender females from competing against other women discriminatory.

Chris Mosier was in Boise Tuesday to protest a bill targeting transgender athletes and students, Idaho Press reported.

Mosier is a transgender man and triathlete sponsored by Nike Inc.

"I'm here because your bill, HB 500, is the worst in the country attacking (transgender) student-athletes," Mosier told a rally attended by about 200 people.

The measure is one of several making their way through GOP-controlled state legislatures this year in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Washington state.

The Idaho bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt would ban transgender women and girls from playing school sports on female teams, allow the gender of female students to be disputed and allow a medical exam to resolve gender disputes.

The measure has passed in the House and has been introduced in the Senate.

Ehhardt contends the bill is intended to ensure continued opportunities for girls and women in sports.

"We need leaders in business, politics, and athletics that promote women and create opportunities for us in sports," Ehardt said. "It is disheartening to think that some athletes, under the guise of equality, do not support girls and women as they pursue their dreams to stand atop the podium as a champion because a biological male had taken her spot."

The bill has been condemned by Idaho's transgender community and others.

"Trans girls are girls," Mosier told the crowd at the rally organized by the Idaho American Civil Liberties Union and attended by groups including Add the Words and Planned Parenthood, KIVI-TV reported.

"I want young people to know that it's okay to be your authentic self and to play the sports that you love," Mosier said.