Framingham has taken an affirmative stance for transgender athletes.
In March, the Framingham School Committee passed a new inclusive sports participation policy by a unanimous 9-0 vote. The policy is designed to allow transgender and gender nonconforming student athletes the opportunity to play the sport that aligns with their gender identity.
“The new policy is a big step for gender inclusion in Framingham schools,” said Adam Freudberg, District 4 committee chair, who has advocated for the policy since its inception. “We’re excited for all the students it will help.”
The Framingham School Committee utilized reputable advocates of transgender athletes as resources for creating the new policy. Chris Mosier offered his expertise on the subject.
As the first openly transgender man to compete on Team USA, Mosier is a pioneer in the community. He said the Framingham School Committee modeled its new inclusive sports participation policy after his website Transathlete, which he created as a resource for all transgender athletes as well as parents, teachers and school administrators.
“The [Framingham] policy will allow all students the opportunity to participate in a way that is comfortable for them,” Mosier said. “It will provide access to sports for people who previously may have felt as though there was no space for them in sports.”
With support from advocates and the community, Spear is hopeful the new policy will prove successful.
“Overall the reaction has been incredibly supportive.” Spear said of the response to the new gender inclusion policy. “This is a great community. There are a lot of different people in Framingham. I’ve been kind of overwhelmed by the support and positive energy we’ve gotten from this.”