A Texas high school wrestler currently undergoing the transition from female to male was booed upon winning a second straight girls’ state title.
Mack Beggs won the girls’ Class 6A 110lb division for the second year in a row at the weekend, prompting a crescendo of boos from the watching crowd, a reaction to Beggs’ controversial situation stemming from the 18-year-old’s ongoing transition from female to male.
Beggs, who is currently taking a low dose of testosterone, has previously asked the school to wrestle against boys but Texas public high schools rules dictate that wrestlers compete under the gender on their birth certificate.
A video posted on social media showed cheers among the boos after Beggs was announced victorious over the same opponent the wrestler beat in the 2017 final. Last year’s win was clouded by an eleventh-hour lawsuit that attempted to stop Beggs from competing altogether.
Beggs entered this year’s championships with a perfect 32-0 record and beat three wrestlers on the way to winning the championship, with one forfeit from a wrestler who feared injury. Last season, Beggs had two forfeits from wrestlers who harbored the same reservations.
However, the junior athlete’s mother, Angela McNaw, says it was skill rather than strength which played the biggest part in the two title victories.
“He has so much respect for all the girls he wrestles,” said McNew, AP reported. “People think Mack has been beating up on girls… The girls he wrestles with, they are tough. It has more to do with skill and discipline than strength.”
Beggs told local newspaper Dallas Metro: “That (the criticism) didn’t stop me from competing. That didn’t stop me from being who I was. It sure as hell didn’t stop me from doing what I wanted to do in the past, and it won’t stop me from what I want to do in the future.”
The reaction to Beggs’ win has polarized opinion on social media almost as much as the issue of the wrestler’s participation amongst girls. Some defended Beggs, while others questioned the fairness of allowing an athlete to wrestle while undergoing hormone treatment.