Politics
Two candidates for governor and one for U.S. Senate voiced support for a Pembroke mom who raised concerns about transgender student-athletes in high school sports.
Demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the court heard arguments concerning transgender athletes participating in girls’ sports. Tierney L. Cross / The New York Times, File
February 5, 2026 | 4:21 PM
2 minutes to read
Several Massachusetts Republican candidates have chimed in after a Pembroke mother reignited local debate over transgender student-athletes, voicing concerns about “fairness” in girls’ sports.
Chrissy Nelson raised the issue during a Jan. 13 Pembroke School Committee meeting, explaining her daughter was edged out in one of her races earlier that month at the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Northeast Invitational. Only the top eight athletes advanced to the finals; Nelson’s daughter placed ninth.
“In that top eight was a biological male,” Nelson alleged. She further suggested her daughter could have missed out on potential college recruitment opportunities as a result.
“When a female cannot be noticed by colleges, they cannot be recruited, they cannot receive college scholarships, and their dreams are crushed,” she added.
Nelson proposed school policies be changed to prioritize “biological sex” over gender, also calling on the Pembroke School Committee to petition the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to change its rules “so that biological males cannot compete in biological female sports.”
“These Pembroke female athletes, … they are not getting their medals, and they are not getting their college opportunities,” Nelson said in a clip that has since generated thousands of likes on social media. “It’s being stolen from them. One day, it could be your daughter.”
John Deaton, a Republican running for U.S. Sen. Ed Markey’s seat, was quick to share the clip, writing, “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.”
Citing his own daughters, Deaton said he understood Nelson’s “frustration and the level of [heartbreak] she has for her child.” Two Republican gubernatorial candidates, Mike Kennealy and Mike Minogue, also weighed in.
“No boys in girls sports. Period. It’s just commonsense,” Kennealy wrote on social media.
Added Minogue: “Girls need fair and safe sports. As a father of two athletic daughters, we need common sense.”
In Pembroke, impassioned debate over Nelson’s proposal continued during Tuesday’s School Committee meeting. Most speakers sided with Nelson, though one offered a counterpoint.
“Despite what headlines suggest, no one here is arguing that a student should be allowed to change their identity on a Monday just to snag a varsity jacket by Friday,” said Keri O’Brien. “The MIAA policy already handles this. It protects ‘bona fide identity,’ which is a fancy way of saying, ‘This is who they actually are; not a competitive loophole.’”
She also highlighted what she called a “glaring logical hole” in Nelson’s proposal, noting that if teams were divided strictly by biological sex, transgender boys would be made to compete with cisgender girls even if they had been taking testosterone.
“By the very logic of those who fear biological advantages, aren’t we creating the exact unfair advantage they claim to oppose?” O’Brien asked. “And I certainly hope no one in our community is suggesting these students simply shouldn’t be allowed to play at all.”
She added: “This isn’t a black and white issue; it’s a complex human one that requires sensitivity, not rigid exclusions.”
Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.
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