Laker Jackson was wrongly identified as female at birth, but high school in Mesa won’t let him play basketball with boys
An Arizona boy was reportedly barred from trying out for his school’s boys’ basketball team and instead ordered to play with the girls’ team after an error with his original birth certificate.
Laker Jackson’s case is the latest to highlight the US’s debate over school athletics and gender identity amid increasing attempts by elected Republican leaders to ban transgender athletes from participating in sports.
In his case, though, Laker is not trans. He is an eighth-grade student at Eastmark high school in Mesa, Arizona, and was excited to join his school’s team, he told local news outlet AZFamily.
“I like the team aspect of the sport a lot,” Laker said to the outlet. “I like to play basketball, I wrestle, and I like football a lot.”
