Transgender Youth Sports Ban, Yet CA Still Allows Travel for College Sports

By: Hector Barajas & Mike Vallante

California Attorney General Rob Bonta just announced that California is banning taxpayer-funded travel to several more states.

Bonta called for a state-funded travel ban to Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and West Virginia in response to legislation in those states that restrict transgender youth from playing school sports “consistent with their gender identity.”

Bonta further stated that “a wave of discriminatory new bills” was sweeping across the country, and he was required to act.

There are now 17 states subject to California’s travel restrictions.

But here is where the hypocrisy starts, and commonsense goes out the door.

The Sacramento Bee wrote that while “The University of California, the Board of Regents of the University of California and the California State University are all subject to the travel restrictions, [their] athletic programs have continued to attend games and events in the state banned from state-sponsored travel.”

So why are youth sports in another state a problem for the Attorney General, yet California’s college sports continue to travel without restrictions?

COMMONSENSE says…. You can’t have it both ways and expect the public to take you or this issue seriously. If the AG believes what he says, he should ban athletic teams from State Universities and Colleges from traveling to those banned states to compete. Otherwise, it’s just another political charade.

Hector Barajas is a communications expert with decades of political, legislative and media experience. Nationally recognized for his work on political campaigns, ethnic media outreach, and public affairs from Capitol Hill to Sacramento.

Mike Vallante has extensive experience in communications and public relations. Mike served as the Regional Administrator for U.S. Small Business Administration’s Region IX. He previously served as Chief Staff to the Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee in Washington, DC. Before that, he was Chief Operating Officer of the California Republican Party from 2003 to 2007.