A Sermon in Search of a Congregation: Dr. Will Boyd’s Trans Sports Plan

By Christopher M Peeks October 09, 2025

Alabama Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Will Boyd

On the October 3, 2025, episode of The BCS: State of Alabama podcast, co-hosted by Brandon Moseley, Alabama Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Will Boyd gave an answer regarding his position on trans athletes that—to say is different than Republicans and Democrats—is like saying a Pentecostal evangelist is preaching a different sermon than a Baptist minister and a Catholic priest. They may be using the same scripture, but the congregation is getting a different version of the gospel.

When asked his position on "boys playing in girls' sports," Dr. Boyd replied, “I believe that we should have an open category where people can compete openly, regardless of what their orientation may be—male or female—or how they identify.”

Now, at first glance, that seems like he’s offering an outside-the-box solution. But when you look inside the box, you see the cardboard is empty.

According to the latest data available from ESPN in 2021, there were 35,000 trans athletes across 50 states, averaging 700 per state. That breaks down to about ten per Alabama’s 67 counties. Each county averages 22 schools—not even one trans athlete per school.

Statistics show that there are more trans women, but no concrete data exists. So, for the sake of argument, let’s say seven are trans women and three are trans men—because there are trans men football players.

Under Dr. Boyd’s idea of creating an "other" category for athletes to compete against each other, you would have to consolidate athletes from multiple counties across the Yellowhammer State just to form a single team in any sport. You might not even be able to field one full football team. How are these “others” going to assimilate to practice? Are parents expected to drive three hours for an “other” athlete to attend practice? What about games? Will there even be enough teams to have a season for this "others" classification?

What about locker rooms? Since we have male and female locker rooms, are we now going to build one to accommodate “others?” Are we going to have to find trans coaches and trans officials? Or can anybody coach the “others?” What about announcers? Are they going to refer to them as “others” in this category? Isn’t that offensive, considering these individuals identify as male or female? Is the new term we’re going to hear people yell, “You’re a transgerist?”

How much is all of this going to cost to accommodate 12% of the people who make up 0.44% of the student body? Where does this end? Are we going to try to change all of society to placate a small percentage of people who have a mental illness?

I still can’t believe we’re having discussions about this. We saw what happened in the last election when America reelected a president who had been defeated four years earlier and convicted of 34 felonies. With the Democratic ticket headed by Kamala Harris wanting to give illegal immigrants in prison transgender surgery, and Governor Tim Walz wanting to put tampons in little boys’ bathrooms, America looked at Donald Trump and said, “He’s more like us.” And much to my dismay, the Democrats keep doubling down on this issue like a man trying to win back money at a blackjack table.

I think Dr. Boyd’s heart was in the right place when he made this statement, but it’s unfeasible. When a person tries to play both ends to the middle, they get burned every time. America rejects the idea of boys playing in girls’ sports—and I’m not just preaching to the choir.

Christopher M. Peeks

Reporter and Columnist

Alabama Political Contributor