"Our Sports Systems Need an Update"

As part of NYRR's celebration of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, the latest episode of our Habitual Routine podcast features interviews with two athletes and advocates who are working to improve representation, visibility, and understanding for the LGBTQIA+ community, especially in sports.

Coach Annick Lamar and Coach Roberto Mandje talk with Lauren Lubin (they/them), a diversity, equity, and belonging expert and most recently an executive producer of We Exist: Beyond the Binary, an award-winning documentary that promotes gender identity awareness and equality specifically for gender nonconfirming individuals. Lauren ran the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon and the 2018 Brooklyn Half (pictured above).

Also in the episode, NYRR's Shaquana Bell chats with Caleb LoSchiavo (he/his), a public health Ph.D. candidate, LGBTQ health advocate, and transgender athlete about how he uses running in his life.

You can listen to the episode, learn more, and subscribe to Habitual Routine.

We talked with Coach Annick about what she learned and what these topics and guests mean to her.

You produced this episode of Habitual Routine. Why did you choose to focus it on transgender and gender nonconforming running stories?

This month has left me with two conflicting feelings. The first is joy—it’s Pride Month and I always get excited for activities and celebrations that make me feel seen as a queer person and connected to the queer community. The other feeling is fury—the recent spike in anti-transgender legislation seeking to restrict access to sport for transgender youth is a human rights violation. As a longtime youth coach, I know that sports can either support young people as they develop, or can be weaponized to exclude.

I wanted to bring in folks who could speak to that joy—such as Caleb talking about finding community as a charity runner for AIDS Foundation of Chicago with Team to End AIDS (T2). I also wanted to create space for our listeners to really question why the social construct of the gender binary exists—which Lauren talked about so expertly.

To what do you attribute the anti-transgender legislation in youth sports?

As more transgender and gender nonconforming runners are claiming space that is rightfully theirs in the sports community, we are witnessing a backlash. Legislators are gatekeeping who can participate in sports. Historically, we’ve seen this behavior before in America when a minority group advocates for equal participation, causing barriers to be quickly constructed to limit their rights. The folks leading the charge with discriminatory policies believe sports is a sacred entity that must be preserved when in reality it’s currently an oppressive patriarchal system that needs an overhauled.

What was your biggest takeaway from speaking with Lauren?

I almost stood up and started clapping when Lauren shared the metaphor that our sport systems need an update like a computer. We often act like sports are immutable and permanent, but Lauren perfectly described how sports need to adapt to the needs of society and not the other way around—just like technology. They evoked for me how sports could be a place of inclusion if those in power rise to meet the times. The phrasing was so powerful that I hope it resonates with our listeners. We are changing so sports should change, too.

How do you feel about the present and future of transgender athletes in our sport?

I feel cautiously optimistic for one key reason—I see the work that transgender and gender nonconforming sports advocates are leading up, and I see strength in their work. If those in the sports community—like myself and those at NYRR—can answer that call to support their advocacy work, I believe there will be positive change. I think the same tenacity and grit that we learn through sports can be seen by those working to defeat this legislation and secure the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming athletes.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m just grateful to Lauren and Caleb for sharing their stories and expertise with the Habitual Routine audience. Also, check out Lauren’s documentary. It’s a must-see.