Republicans angry about trans boy wrestling girls after he was prevented from taking on boys

A Republican campaign leaflet has misrepresented the story of a trans man who competed against girls in high school wrestling, after he was prevented from taking on boys as he wanted.

The flier was sent to voters in Texas as a way of attacking Democrat Colin Allred’s support for trans inclusion in schools. He is challenging Ted Cruz for his senate seat.

It features a blurry image from 2017 of high school wrestler Mack Beggs, a trans man who was banned from competing against boys and forced to participate in the female category/

Beggs won a number of women’s titles but because he was made to compete in a category that did not match his gender, he often felt as if he was winning and losing at the same time and was in a very “dark place” in terms of his mental health.

“Colin Allred failed to protect women’s sports, supporting boys competing with girls,” the campaign advert reads, in reference to Democrat voting against a bill which would bar trans women from women’s sport.

Having heard about it, Beggs wrote on Instagram: “I’ve been waiting to collect my thoughts on this situation… the Republican Texas government has decided to use my image yet again on one of their political campaigns.

“I have already had a few people let me know about this campaign ad, paid for by the Republican Party in Texas. Not cool. The fact they are still using my story and face for their political agendas, it’s sickening at this point.”

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