Massachusetts mom speaks out after transgender track runner keeps daughter from advancing

A mother is calling for changes to Massachusetts school sports rules after she says a male transgender athlete displaced her daughter at a girls’ indoor track meet.

Chrissy Nelson raised the issue during a January Pembroke School Committee meeting after her daughter competed in the girls’ 55-meter dash at the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Division 4 Northeast Invitational earlier that month. 

Nelson said her daughter finished ninth in the preliminary race and was unable to advance to the finals. Only the top eight runners qualify for the final heat. Nelson told the committee that a male transgender-identifying athlete finished ahead of her daughter, taking one of the final qualifying spots. 

The athlete Nelson referenced competes for Chelsea High School and has facial hair, according to NewBostonPost. 

Pembroke is a South Shore town of roughly 18,000 residents about 35 miles south of Boston. Chelsea is a small city just north of Boston, with about 40,000 residents. 

Nelson said the result had consequences beyond a single meet, pointing to how placement and visibility impact college recruiting and scholarship opportunities. 

“When a female cannot be noticed by colleges, they cannot be recruited, they cannot receive college scholarships, and their dreams are crushed,” Nelson told the committee Jan. 13. “I’m here today bringing this important issue to your attention purely because I think that there are some school policies that need to be changed.” 

Nelson urged the district to base athletic participation on biological sex rather than gender identity. 

Republican candidates across Massachusetts echoed Nelson’s concerns, framing the issue as one of fairness. 

Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton criticized Democratic leaders for dismissing parents raising objections. 

“Too bad this MA Mom’s plea for basic fairness for her daughter and other female athletes falls on deaf ears when it comes to @SenMarkey,” Deaton posted on X. “Unlike Ed Markey, I have daughters and understand this woman’s frustration and the level of 💔 she has for her child.” 

Republican gubernatorial candidates Mike Kennealy and Mike Minogue also voiced support. 

“No boys in girls sports. Period. It’s just commonsense,” Kennealy wrote on X. 

Additionally, Minogue posted, “Girls need fair and safe sports. As a father of two athletic daughters, we need common sense.” 

Massachusetts allows male athletes who identify as female to compete in girls’ sports under a 2011 law known as An Act Relative to Gender Identity, which added gender identity as a protected class in public schools and required state agencies to treat it the same as sex for participation purposes. 

A March 2025 University of New Hampshire poll found 63% of Bay Staters oppose allowing male transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.