A female to male transgender high schooler has won the Texas Class 6A championship in the girls’ division for the second year in a row.
The trans wrestler, Mack Beggs, is on a dosage of testosterone pursuant to her transition. Although all other wrestlers are prohibited from using steroids because it would create an unfair advantage, Beggs’ usage was permitted.
The Euless Trinity High School senior took home the state championship last year, too. According to the New York Post, that season included two girls forfeiting in the regional tournament because they “feared injury.” This year, one female wrestler refused to wrestle Beggs and forfeited the match.
The 18-year-old had a perfect 32-0 record against the steroid-free girls she took on this season.
As with last year’s win, this year’s win caused a swirl of controversy. Beggs received a mixed reaction of cheers and boos when the referee raised her arm to signify her win in the 110-pound weight class championship match.
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The wrestler’s mother, Angela McNew, argues that the steroids aren’t really an advantage to her daughter, that wrestling has more to do with “skill and discipline.”
“People think Mack has been beating up on girls,” she said. “The girls he wrestles with, they are tough. It has more to do with skill and discipline than strength.”
“He has so much respect for all the girls he wrestles,” added McNew.
As previously reported by The Daily Wire, Beggs is barred from wrestling against boys due to University Interscholastic League rules, which mandate that athletes wrestle in the gender division reflected on their birth certificates.