Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is not happy with another coastal liberal governor..She slammed California Governor Gavin Newsom on GBH Radio on Wednesday for coming out against transgender-identifying athletes competing in girls' sports.While Healey didn't express support for males competing in girls' sports, and her exact stance on the issue remains unclear, she said Newsom is using the Republican playbook."No. Look, I think people are playing into -- let's know, this has been the game. This has been the Republican game, is to pick a really discreet issue -- the number of transgender people in this country is very small, the number of transgender athletes in this country is even smaller -- and blow that up into something," Healey said. "What we should be focusing on is how and where is Trump going to deliver on his campaign promise, which was to lower costs, which is not what he's doing."Healey went on to give a full-throated defense of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives -- something she didn't do for transgender athletes."Unfortunately, the word, the term, DEI, it's become completely caricatured, right? Which is why I don't even say the word DEI. I say what it is, diversity, inclusion, equity, all right?" she said."Let's get back to saying the words and make people say and explain why they oppose diversity, why they oppose inclusion," she continued. "You know, antics of more discussion or platforming of Charlie Kirk, to me, that's not what I'm about, O.K? As governor in this state, I believe in diversity, I believe that we should continue to have women and people of color at the table, I believe it is wrong to exclude somebody because they have a disability, it is wrong to exclude somebody because of their sexual orientation.” "That's not what Massachusetts is about, and actually, under federal law, that's not what this country is about. So let's move on," she concluded.The comments came after Newsom called males competing in girls' sports "completely unfair" on the “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast last week. Newsom's guest on the first episode was conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.“I think it’s an issue of fairness – I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness; it’s deeply unfair,” Newsom told Kirk. “I am not wrestling with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you.”“I revere sports, so the issue of fairness is completely legit,” he later added. “And I saw that – the last couple years, boy did I [see] how you guys were able to weaponize that issue at another level.”After U.S. Represent at it Seth Moulton (D-Salem) came out against male athletes who identify as transgender competing in girls' sports in November 2024, Healey said that she views the issue differently from other issues involving so-called gender identity -- without elaborating -- but last fall she accused Moulton of playing politics. "I think a discussion about transgender athletes is a different discussion as somebody who was a college athlete," the Harvard women's basketball alum told reporters on November 13, 2024. "But you know there's too much conflating of things right now and what I see and what I saw in that comment was playing politics with people. We shouldn't do that. We should have real conversations and not play politics with people, particularly young people and folks who are vulnerable."In Massachusetts, transgender-identifying athletes can compete on teams that match their so-called gender identity in Massachusetts thanks to a state law stemming from legislation called "An Act Relative To Gender Identity." Then-Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, signed it into law in 2011.Since then, Bay State transgender-identifying athletes have won state championships in girls' track and girls' basketball. They have also received league all-star honors in girls' basketball and girls' volleyball and have set meet records in girls' track.Massachusetts boys have also won state championships in girls' gymnastics and field hockey, as NewBostonPost has reported. However, that's been allowed since 1979 due to the state Supreme Judicial Court ruling not letting boys compete on girls teams when the school offers no equivalent team violates the state's Equal Rights Amendment (Attorney General vs MIAA).Support for transgender athletes in girls' sports is among the Democratic Party's least popular positions.A New York Times poll released last month found that 79 percent of Americans oppose letting transgender-identifying athletes compete in women's sports and just 18 percent support it.Healey's office could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is not happy with another coastal liberal governor..She slammed California Governor Gavin Newsom on GBH Radio on Wednesday for coming out against transgender-identifying athletes competing in girls' sports.While Healey didn't express support for males competing in girls' sports, and her exact stance on the issue remains unclear, she said Newsom is using the Republican playbook."No. Look, I think people are playing into -- let's know, this has been the game. This has been the Republican game, is to pick a really discreet issue -- the number of transgender people in this country is very small, the number of transgender athletes in this country is even smaller -- and blow that up into something," Healey said. "What we should be focusing on is how and where is Trump going to deliver on his campaign promise, which was to lower costs, which is not what he's doing."Healey went on to give a full-throated defense of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives -- something she didn't do for transgender athletes."Unfortunately, the word, the term, DEI, it's become completely caricatured, right? Which is why I don't even say the word DEI. I say what it is, diversity, inclusion, equity, all right?" she said."Let's get back to saying the words and make people say and explain why they oppose diversity, why they oppose inclusion," she continued. "You know, antics of more discussion or platforming of Charlie Kirk, to me, that's not what I'm about, O.K? As governor in this state, I believe in diversity, I believe that we should continue to have women and people of color at the table, I believe it is wrong to exclude somebody because they have a disability, it is wrong to exclude somebody because of their sexual orientation.” "That's not what Massachusetts is about, and actually, under federal law, that's not what this country is about. So let's move on," she concluded.The comments came after Newsom called males competing in girls' sports "completely unfair" on the “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast last week. Newsom's guest on the first episode was conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.“I think it’s an issue of fairness – I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness; it’s deeply unfair,” Newsom told Kirk. “I am not wrestling with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you.”“I revere sports, so the issue of fairness is completely legit,” he later added. “And I saw that – the last couple years, boy did I [see] how you guys were able to weaponize that issue at another level.”After U.S. Represent at it Seth Moulton (D-Salem) came out against male athletes who identify as transgender competing in girls' sports in November 2024, Healey said that she views the issue differently from other issues involving so-called gender identity -- without elaborating -- but last fall she accused Moulton of playing politics. "I think a discussion about transgender athletes is a different discussion as somebody who was a college athlete," the Harvard women's basketball alum told reporters on November 13, 2024. "But you know there's too much conflating of things right now and what I see and what I saw in that comment was playing politics with people. We shouldn't do that. We should have real conversations and not play politics with people, particularly young people and folks who are vulnerable."In Massachusetts, transgender-identifying athletes can compete on teams that match their so-called gender identity in Massachusetts thanks to a state law stemming from legislation called "An Act Relative To Gender Identity." Then-Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, signed it into law in 2011.Since then, Bay State transgender-identifying athletes have won state championships in girls' track and girls' basketball. They have also received league all-star honors in girls' basketball and girls' volleyball and have set meet records in girls' track.Massachusetts boys have also won state championships in girls' gymnastics and field hockey, as NewBostonPost has reported. However, that's been allowed since 1979 due to the state Supreme Judicial Court ruling not letting boys compete on girls teams when the school offers no equivalent team violates the state's Equal Rights Amendment (Attorney General vs MIAA).Support for transgender athletes in girls' sports is among the Democratic Party's least popular positions.A New York Times poll released last month found that 79 percent of Americans oppose letting transgender-identifying athletes compete in women's sports and just 18 percent support it.Healey's office could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
