He has been navigating what may be the most contentious, controversial sports story in the country right now and understands the angst it has caused numerous teenagers.That angst came to a head Tuesday when about a dozen runners from the Camas High School girls cross country team walked off the starting line when the gun went off in their race against Battle Ground, a fellow Washington state school.Why? They were protesting their male teammate competing against the females.WASHINGTON GIRLS WALK OFF CROSS COUNTRY MEET IN PROTEST OF MALE ATHLETE, PARENTS REVEAL HOW IT CAME TO THISLast month, a Camas sophomore switched to the girls team midseason after finishing 76th in a boys race.
He has since won a varsity meet and placed second in two others.Unsurprisingly, this has ballooned into a national story with teammates and opponents staging protests.
Anzalone didn't take a side on the issue, but he empathizes with the students' plight."It's always hard to see when students are upset, let alone our families.And I know this issue has polarized our country for a long time, and this has probably added to that, right," Anzalone said.
"And so, as a dad, it's always hard to see your own kids or any kids in the middle of something like this.And that's probably been the most heartbreaking for me, is to see certain students really kind of in the middle of this, right? They're kids.
So that's been challenging, and that's always gonna be hard."It's hard to know exactly how Anzalone or anyone involved with the school feels about the biological male competing in these meets after starting the year with the boys.They have been either neutral (Anzalone) or mute (the coaching staff) when asked about the topic.
But at a meet in Arlington, Washington, last Saturday, numerous parents made their disapproval clear.And increasingly, the athletes are doing the same.This isn't an easy thing to do.
Despite most of the country supporting the separation of biological males and females in sport...