Kae McCarty is an assistant professor of public health at the University of Southern Maine. The opinions expressed here are the writer’s alone and do not reflect those of the University of Maine System.

I love sports that make me feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, which is why I’ve played roller derby for 16 years, including here in Maine. In this full-contact sport on roller skates, I have faced people of all genders with no difference when it comes to my safety.

Though the measure for banning trans athletes from women’s sports is not likely to be on the November ballot, the relevance of this issue is undeniable. Before any other measures are tried, there is a need to ensure that Mainers understand the facts around these statutes, and not just the fear-mongering surrounding them.

Whether you’re on the fence or looking for rebuttals for arguments, allow this to be a space of learning. Regardless of personal opinion, there are a few, irrefutable facts.

Trans athletes (particularly women) do not have an unfair advantage. As recently as February 2026, evidence has continued to suggest that trans athletes are not at an advantage in any given sport based solely on their genetics. In fact, one study suggests there are areas where trans women athletes may even have a disadvantage when compared to the performance of their cisgendered peers. Performance, as it turns out, is much more than genetics or testosterone, it is access to time, money, and mental fortitude.

Trans athletes are not taking away opportunities. Trans girls are not taking away opportunities from cis girls — they belong on the team and the podium because they are girls. The real culprits are the lack of investment in women’s sports and only 2% of high school athletes even making it to the NCAA. Further, the exorbitant cost makes it impossible for many families in Maine to even support their children through sport. Not to mention the ultra-competitive environments that don’t prioritize long-term enjoyment for athletic careers, particularly for women and girls.

Testing is harmful to girls and women. Girls in Maine don’t need a deterrent to playing sport, they already drop out at alarming rates. Enforcement of a ban on trans athletes amounts to gender “testing,” which risks continued self-selecting out based on fear of social or physical harm. In other states where these gendered sport bans are in place, it’s cisgendered girls who maybe have short hair, or perform well athletically, who are coming under scrutiny. This continues to point to a rampant double standard within a gendered view of sport. When Michael Phelps was revealed to have a physical advantage of a long torso and arms, he was hailed as a hero. When Simone Biles outperforms her peers by pushing the limits of what’s possible in gymnastics, she’s a threat.

Trans women athletes are not a threat to safety. In 2021, a total of 1 in 4 collegiate athletes reported having experienced sexual violence by an authority figure on campus, mainly coaches. The problem is not trans athletes, the problem is a system that perpetuates and hides a culture of abuse, sometimes for decades. Why would someone go through the trouble of “pretending” to be a female athlete to gain access to the women when it’s clear they already have it? If this issue were really about safety, then there are more pressing issues to address, starting with coaches and support staff.

I love roller derby so much that I got my Ph.D. in kinesiology. As an assistant professor at USM now in public health, I look at sport and physical activity through a critical lens. My goal is for everyone to love to move and have the access and ability to do so as they please.

This includes trans athletes. Overall, bans of this kind do more to create a hostile environment for an already tumultuous landscape of sport for girls. Within the entire NCAA, transgender athletes represent less than 0.002% of the population. Within Maine, that number is “two [athletes] out of tens of thousands.”

If the issue were really about safety, we would create a system to prevent assault. If it were about fairness, we would make play more accessible, financially and invest in municipalities. We owe it to our athletes to focus on opening more doors instead of working to close the few that exist.

The writer would like to acknowledge the assistance of Val Moyer, who reviewed this piece.