| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Feb 04, 2021 | | 👋 Good morning! Starting tomorrow, we'll be publishing three consecutive special editions. - 🏈 Tomorrow: Super Bowl LV preview
- 🏈 Monday: Super Bowl LV recap
- 🇨🇳 Tuesday: Beijing 2022
Today's word count: 1,505 words (6 minutes). | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🇺🇸 The debate over trans inclusion |  | | | Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios | | | | President Biden's executive order prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination in federally-funded athletics represents a significant step forward for transgender women athletes, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. - What it says: The order — which targets discrimination in all areas, not just sports — states that schools receiving federal funding must allow biological boys who self-identify as girls onto girls' sports teams or face federal action.
- Why it matters: The Human Rights Campaign called it "the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity ever issued by a United States president."
The state of play: As it stands, policies surrounding trans participation in youth sports differ state-by-state. - 10 states are "trans exclusive": Participation must match gender assigned at birth.
- 17 states plus D.C. are "trans inclusive": Trans girls can play with cis girls regardless of how far along their transition is.
- 17 other states are "trans inclusive (if)": Trans girls can play with cis girls as long as they've taken gender-affirming hormones for a year.
- Six states have no policy.
Of note: While you can find studies proving trans women have no competitive advantage, you can find others proving the opposite. Between the lines: The long-raging debate that Biden's order re-opened is a nuanced one. So while the extreme solutions — full inclusion or full exclusion — are easier to digest, they're not indicative of the debate's true nature. - A group of high-profile women sports leaders, including Martina Navratilova, has proposed legislation to exempt girls' and women's sports from Biden's order.
- Rather than blanket inclusion, they want to take a more scientific approach, limiting participation of transgender girls and women who "have experienced all or part of male puberty."
- But they still want to accommodate their participation through things like separate heats, additional events and/or the handicapping of results.
What they're saying: Casey Pick (she/her pronouns) of The Trevor Project, which provides support for LGBTQ youth, says "the goal is just to have equal opportunities and let folks play if they want to play." - "We can uphold female sports and allow for participation by everybody at the same time," Pick tells me. "This is not a zero sum game."
- On the other side, WSJ's Abigail Shrier (subscription) argues that cisgender girls could be discouraged from participating if they know they'll be "demoralized by the blatant unfairness of a rigged competition."
The bottom line: This order is a step forward for the trans community and their advocates, but it's a complex issue that won't go away after a simple stroke of the president's pen. "Right now, trans groups and those supporting protection of biological girls and women are not talking. They are in court trying to win on their respective extreme positions. ... This needs to change and we have to just keep at it." — Title IX attorney Nancy Hogshead-Makar, via USA TodayGo deeper: The impact of sports on LGBTQ youth (Axios) |     | | | | | | 2. 🏈 Recruiting: Where top prospects come from |  Data: 247Sports; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios National Signing Day came and went on Wednesday, signaling the official end of the 2021 college football recruiting cycle, Jeff writes. The state of play: As happens most years, the majority of top prospects came from a select few states, concentrated primarily in the South and California. By the numbers: There were a total of 377 blue-chip recruits (i.e. four or five stars), coming from 37 states plus Washington, D.C. - "The Big Five": Texas had the most (52), followed by Florida (46), California (33), North Carolina (26) and Georgia (24). Combined, these five states produced 48% of this year's blue chips.
- The next tier: Just seven other states produced at least 10 blue chips: Alabama (17), Pennsylvania (14), Ohio (14), Maryland (13), Louisiana (13), Washington (11) and Michigan (11).
- No blue chips: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming.
P.S. ... Alabama (the school, not the state) has landed the No. 1 recruiting class in nine of the past 11 years, and their 2021 class is the highest-rated class ever. Go deeper: Top 25 recruiting classes (247Sports) | | | | | | | | 3. 🇨🇳 Beijing 2022: Calls for boycott one year out |  | | | A countdown clock in Beijing. Photo: VCG via Getty Images | | | | The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin one year from today. - Driving the news: A coalition of 180 rights groups on Wednesday called for a boycott of the Beijing Games, citing human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in China.
- What they're saying: The groups issued an open letter to governments, urging them to boycott so that the Olympics "are not used to embolden the Chinese government's appalling rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent."
📆 Coming next Tuesday: Together with Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, who authors Axios China, we'll be publishing a special edition newsletter on the Beijing Olympics — and these calls for protests. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Keep up with Minneapolis-St. Paul sports | | |  | | | | Get a daily digest of what's new in your hometown with Axios Twin Cities. Why it matters: It's more important than ever to stay up to date on the events unfolding around you. Subscribe for free | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round | Source: @E_Woodyard (Twitter) 📸 Giannis, the photographer: The reigning NBA MVP had a triple-double in three quarters in a blowout win over the Pacers. He spent the fourth quarter snapping photographs after picking up a team employee's camera. 🏀 Upsets galore: Wild night in college hoops. St. John's beat No. 3 Villanova, East Carolina beat No. 5 Houston, Georgetown beat No. 15 Creighton, Pitt beat No. 16 Virginia Tech and South Carolina beat No. 22 Florida. 🏒 The NWHL's two-week bubble season ended Wednesday when the league suspended the playoffs because of new positive tests among players. 🏆 The NCAA has canceled Division III winter championships due to low participation numbers across member schools amid the pandemic. 🥍 The NLL (indoor lacrosse) canceled plans to hold an abbreviated spring season due to logistical hurdles and will now focus on holding a full fall season. | | | | | | | | 5. 🏒 NHL postponements piling up |  | | | Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images | | | | NHL postponements are beginning to pile up as teams manage outbreaks, and the league could be headed toward a scheduling crunch. The state of play: The Stars and Hurricanes already weathered lengthy postponements, and four teams are currently in the midst of their own. - The Golden Knights, who had their GM coach the team last week because the entire coaching staff was quarantined, haven't played since Jan. 26.
- The Devils have 17 players on the COVID list and postponed games through Saturday.
- The Wild have six players on the list and postponed games through Tuesday.
- The Sabres have four players on the list and postponed games through Monday.
The big picture: The NHL's regional structure this season has illuminated the difference between playing sports in Canada (2,113 cases per 100,000 people) and the U.S. (8,091 cases per 100,000 people) amid the pandemic. - Over half of the NHL's American teams have faced a postponement.
- Every game in the Canadian Division has gone off without a hitch.
| | | | | | | | 6. ⚾️ Baseball's unsigned hit kings |  | | | Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios | | | | Seven of MLB's top 20 active hits leaders remain unsigned with Spring Training right around the corner, Jeff writes. - Unsigned: Nick Markakis (2,388 hits); Yadier Molina (2,001); Ryan Braun (1,963); Edwin Encarnación (1,832); Matt Kemp (1,808); Asdrúbal Cabrera (1,692); Shin-Soo Choo (1,671).
- Signed: Albert Pujols (3,236); Miguel Cabrera (2,866); Robinson Canó (2,624); Joey Votto (1,908); Ryan Zimmerman (1,784); Nelson Cruz (1,777); Evan Longoria (1,752); Elvis Andrus (1,743); Andrew McCutchen (1,719); Justin Upton (1,681); Starlin Castro (1,633); José Altuve (1,610); Freddie Freeman (1,524).
The big picture: Baseball is obsessed with numbers, but the outsize emphasis on the rarefied mark of 3,000 hits makes it easy to forget just how hard it is to reach even half that many. Consider this: Of the 9,914 position players who've had at least one MLB at-bat, 6% never got a hit and 59% have fewer than 250 (cool data visualization). - 24.5% have more than 500 and 18.1% have more than 750.
- 13.1% have more than 1,000 and 6.3% (643 players) have over 1,500.
- 2.8% have cracked 2,000 hits and fewer than 1% have hit 2,500 (101 players).
- Only 32 players have reached 3,000, while Pete Rose and Ty Cobb are the only two with over 4,000.
Go deeper: Remaining free agents by position (MLB) | | | | | | | | 7. 🌍 Photos 'round the world | | Photo: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images MELBOURNE, Australia — One COVID-19 case contracted at a Melbourne quarantine hotel has caused 507 tennis players and staff to go into isolation until they return a negative test result, four days out from the Australian Open. Photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images MAZATLÁN, Mexico — The Caribbean Series is great. The Dominican Republic is currently in first place (4-0), followed by Puerto Rico (3-1), Panama (2-2), Mexico (2-2), Venezuela (1-3) and Colombia (0-4). Photo: Simon Holmes/FIFA via Getty Images DOHA, Qatar — The FIFA Club World Cup kicks off today in Qatar, with matches being held in two stadiums that will host games during the 2022 World Cup. | | | | | | | | 8. Feb. 4, 1932: 🇺🇸 The first American Olympics | | Photo: David Pollack/Corbis via Getty Images 89 years ago today, the 1932 Winter Olympics opened in Lake Placid, New York. - Medal count: USA won 12 medals, marking the only time the U.S. topped the medal tally at the Winter Olympics until the 2010 Vancouver Games.
- Fun fact: The Games were opened by Franklin D. Roosevelt, then the governor of New York. He was elected president nine months later.
- Of note: American speed skater Jack Shea became the first Olympian to receive a gold medal on the victory podium, which debuted that year.
USA vs. Canada hockey game at the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images The big picture: This was the first of four Winter Olympics — and eight Olympics total — to be held in the U.S. What's next: The 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles. 🎥 Watch: Incredible footage (YouTube) | | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 NBA trivia |  | | | Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images | | | | Luka Dončić posted his 36th career game with at least 25 points and 10 assists on Wednesday, third-most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2018. - Question: Who are the only two players with more?
- Hint: Both play in the East.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎥 Wednesday's top plays | | Giphy - 🏀 Ball to Bridges
- 🏒 David Pastrnak!
- ⚽️ Laser beam
- ⚾️ Juggling catch
- 🏀 With authority!
Watch all 5. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Keep up with Minneapolis-St. Paul sports | | | | | | | | Get a daily digest of what's new in your hometown with Axios Twin Cities. Why it matters: It's more important than ever to stay up to date on the events unfolding around you. Subscribe for free | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Saban isn't fair" Baker Trivia answer: James Harden and Trae Young | | Invite friends to follow Axios Sports Use your personal link to track how many readers you bring into the community  You currently have 00 referrals. Share with a friend For questions email referralsupport@axios.com. Participation in the Axios Sports Referral Program constitutes your acceptance of the Axios Terms and Conditions of Use, which can be viewed here. | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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