Fair Game - by Ellie Roscher & Anna Baeth (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Foreword by Chris Mosier

A timely, illuminating plan for how trans and cis athletes can both fairly play sports

Fair Game offers an insightful, timely examination of the ongoing battle for equality in athletics. As LGBTQ athletes break barriers in the Olympics, transgender athletes still face harsh restrictions in many areas. With twenty-four states passing anti-trans sports legislation in the last two years, nearly half of Americans live under laws that restrict or ban transgender individuals from participating in sports. Fair Game explores why taking the next step and increasing the acceptance of trans athletes is important not only for everyone with an Olympic dream but also everyone whose kids just want to join the town soccer league.

Fair Game explores the role of sports in the lives of transgender youth and adults, offering a comprehensive, nuanced, and multivoiced picture of the transgender athletic experience. Through a woven collection of the narratives from a marginalized population, Fair Game examines the patterns of fear and gender stereotypes that undergird anti-trans legislation and offers helpful historical and political context about sex segregation in sports and how bodies (including trans bodies) work in sports.

Timely, accessible, inspiring, and rigorous, Fair Game presents a sports landscape beyond our current conceptions, a world changed by unrestricted and joyful movement in sports.

Review Quotes

Praise for Fair Game:
"An affecting examination of transgender athletes' exclusion from organized sports. . . . Roscher and Baeth illuminate how trans athletes are competing not to gain an advantage but to live as their true selves."
--Publishers Weekly

'Bolstered by a sense of urgency as transgender athletes face exclusion from sports due to legislation restricting or banning their participation, Roscher and Baeth invite readers to understand the myths surrounding these athletes and advocate for compassion and inclusion."
--Booklist

"A timely and valuable contribution to current conversations on the equitable participation of trans athletes in sports."--Library Journal

"Fair Game is a bold and necessary call to action--because trans athletes aren't a threat to sports, they're a threat to the systems that try to exclude them. If you care about fairness, equity, and human rights, you need to read this."
--Megan Rapinoe, World Cup champion, New York Times bestselling author, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient

"So much of the vitriol directed at transgender athletes is based on ignorance or disinformation. Fair Game dispels the false narratives with data and facts. It's an important effort, and one that's long overdue."
--Nancy Armour, USA Today sports columnist

"I've heard lots of strong opinions about trans athletes and women's sports. But like so many Americans, I hadn't heard from trans athletes themselves. Fair Game lets trans athletes speak for themselves and reveals the truth about why so many want to limit their participation. A must-read for anyone who wants to take a step back from the anger and hate to find a hopeful way forward for us all, on and off the field."
--Rev. Angela Denker, author of Red State Christians

"This urgent and necessary volume explores this issue with facts, data and clarity."
--Ms. Magazine

"Thoroughly researched and rigorously argued, [Fair Game] offers a striking account of the hostile political climate fueled by scapegoating and misinformation, and counters it with the substantial body of evidence showing that trans inclusion strengthens athletic communities for everyone who participates."
--National Catholic Reporter

"A clear-headed, easily digestible look at the escalating attacks on transgender athletes and, more usefully, how to respond productively when people trot out the most well-worn points of 'debate.'"
--Slate

Praise for Fair Game:
"An affecting examination of transgender athletes' exclusion from organized sports. . . . Roscher and Baeth illuminate how trans athletes are competing not to gain an advantage but to live as their true selves."
-Publishers Weekly

'Bolstered by a sense of urgency as transgender athletes face exclusion from sports due to legislation restricting or banning their participation, Roscher and Baeth invite readers to understand the myths surrounding these athletes and advocate for compassion and inclusion."
--Booklist

"A timely and valuable contribution to current conversations on the equitable participation of trans athletes in sports."--Library Journal

"Fair Game is a bold and necessary call to action--because trans athletes aren't a threat to sports, they're a threat to the systems that try to exclude them. If you care about fairness, equity, and human rights, you need to read this."
--Megan Rapinoe, World Cup champion, New York Times bestselling author, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient

"So much of the vitriol directed at transgender athletes is based on ignorance or disinformation. Fair Game dispels the false narratives with data and facts. It's an important effort, and one that's long overdue."
--Nancy Armour, USA Today sports columnist

"I've heard lots of strong opinions about trans athletes and women's sports. But like so many Americans, I hadn't heard from trans athletes themselves. Fair Game lets trans athletes speak for themselves and reveals the truth about why so many want to limit their participation. A must-read for anyone who wants to take a step back from the anger and hate to find a hopeful way forward for us all, on and off the field."
--Rev. Angela Denker, author of Red State Christians

"This urgent and necessary volume explores this issue with facts, data and clarity."
--Ms. Magazine

"Thoroughly researched and rigorously argued, [Fair Game] offers a striking account of the hostile political climate fueled by scapegoating and misinformation, and counters it with the substantial body of evidence showing that trans inclusion strengthens athletic communities for everyone who participates."
--National Catholic Reporter

"A clear-headed, easily digestible look at the escalating attacks on transgender athletes and, more usefully, how to respond productively when people trot out the most well-worn points of 'debate.'"
--Slate

About the Author

Ellie Roscher (she/they), is a writer, educator, podcaster, coach, and speaker. She was a two-sport college athlete, is the author of several books and lives in Minneapolis.

Dr. Anna Baeth (she/her) is a critical feminist scholar and a cultural studies practitioner of sport. She is the director of Research at Athlete Ally and lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.