AUSTIN, Texas — A Central Texas women’s rugby team says it plans to remain inclusive of all athletes -including those who are transgender- after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that bans transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
The White House demanded schools and athletic associations change their rules. If they don’t comply, the White House threatens to withhold federal funding and sue them.
The executive order also directs Secretary of State Marco Rubio to push for changes within the International Olympic Committee to maintain single-sex competition.
“We will defend the proud tradition of female athletes, and we will not allow men to beat up, injure and cheat our women and our girls,” Trump said. “From now on, women’s sports will be only for women.”
Women’s rugby team Round Rock Rage RFC said it doesn’t plan to change its policies.
“We’re inclusive, and no matter what happens with these next executive orders, that will not change. No matter what laws come down the pipeline,” founder Kris Karsten said. “We’re just going to keep doing like we’ve been. Not going to stop, not going to be quiet. If anything, we’re probably going to get louder.”
Karsten’s wife Sarah Dickerson, who also goes by “Biggie,” is club president. Dickerson said the team is an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome and equal.
“It’s important for us to support the community loudly and show that we aren’t afraid to say that we include trans people, and we’re not trying to hide,” Dickerson said. “We are very sternly and directly saying everybody here is welcome.”
In a social media post responding to President Trump’s executive order, Round Rock Rage RFC said it will continue to allow players of any gender identity to join its team.
“There’s anger, sadness, and disappointment, but there’s also more of a drive for us to be more intentional about how we include the trans community and make them a part of our community,” Dickerson said. “Not as some additions or a box to check, but just a trans player is on our team, just like a cisgender player is on our team.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott met with President Donald Trump last Wednesday as he signed the executive order.
“Today is a historic day for female athletes across the country who have worked tirelessly to compete at the highest level,” Abbott said.
“President Trump’s Executive Order prohibiting biological men from competing in women’s sports will safeguard the integrity of women’s sports, and I am proud to have joined the President at the White House for this historic signing. Female athletes across the nation can be assured that fairness will be protected.”
Texas already has laws banning transgender athletes from competing in sports that align with their gender identity. In 2023, Gov. Abbott signed Senate Bill 15, also known as the “Save Women’s Sports Act.” The law requires college-level athletes to only compete by their biological sex.
State lawmakers passed another law, House Bill 25, in 2021, banning transgender athletes from competing in grade school sports.
Dickerson said the team’s cisgender players will “raise hell” for transgender players and fight with them as they work to ensure they’re included and part of their community.
“Many people on our team feel passionately about keeping the sport inclusive,” she said. “We care about the culture of our team and rugby as a whole.”
“We want the fight,” she added. “It’s at that point where we might have to start not physically fighting, but we’re going to have to start doing something.”
The NCAA has already changed its policies to comply with the executive order. In a December hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, NCAA President Charlie Baker said of the 510,000 NCAA athletes, he’s aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes in active competition.
Dickerson says the women’s rugby community supports transgender players, and any woman who wants to play should be able to do so. The game, she said, needs different types of people and bodies.
“You need somebody 5’1″ like me that can be speedy and run through people just as much as you need a person That’s 6’5 that can bash through rather than dance around,” Dickerson said. “Rather than saying, we want women on our rugby team, except for these, we need everybody on the team.”
While the team has transgender players, Dickerson pointed out they aren’t the “biggest, strongest or fastest” players she has seen.
“There are plenty of transgender athletes who are big and fast and strong, but they’re not at a huge advantage compared to the Ilona Maher’s of the world who were just built for rugby,” Dickerson said.
Those who support banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports say it is not about exclusion, but about ensuring the safety, privacy and fairness of female athletes.
Dickerson said that’s not something she or her teammates are concerned about.
“Any good rugby player at any level can tackle somebody 2 or 3 sizes bigger than them. I’m times bigger than them because of how we’re taught to tackle and the rules around how you tackle,” Dickerson said. “There’s a lot of safety involved and saying that we need to be protected from this small group of people, I don’t need to be protected.”
The club is part of the Texas Rugby Union. The national governing body of the sport, USA Rugby, follows the International Olympic Committee policy adopted in 2015, which requires athletes to be in a certain hormonal range to participate.
“Every team member brings something unique to the team, and we want everybody to be able to be themselves within our community and feel unique while also feeling included and together and part of the group,” Dickerson said.
The club is collecting sports gear for transgender athletes who are in the process of transitioning or who have recently transitioned as part of its “Boots, Binders, and Bras” drive. The group is collecting donations of unused sports bras, binders and cleats.
You can drop donations at OutWellness or during the team’s practices on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. at 217 Commerce Blvd. in Round Rock.
“It costs thousands of dollars to get gender-affirming care. If we can eliminate $50 for a good pair of boots, which is what we call rugby cleats. If we can get these athletes sports bras and binders to feel more comfortable, that is our way of trying to help people feel included,” Dickerson said.
No matter what federal or state leaders do, the team says it plans to continue fighting for inclusion on and off the field.
“There’s a lot of sports out there where everybody kind of closely knows, yeah, that’s a pretty gay sport or a pretty queer sport,” Karsten said. “It’s different, especially when you’re trans, to think, well, these people look like they might be inclusive or this place looks welcoming versus somebody saying, hey, we actively recognize you, and we actively want you to know that you are welcome here.”
“It’s really important coming from the queer space not just to be an ally and be inclusive, but to openly and staunchly say that because the real allyship, the real change for stuff like this, the real inclusion doesn’t happen until you’re loud about it,” he added.
The Round Rock Rage’s next match is Feb. 22 against a team from Oklahoma City.