Talarico camp says he opposes trans athletes if unsafe or unfair but accuses politicians of bullying students

Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico's campaign claims he opposes transgender athletes competing in girls' sports when safety or fairness is at risk, but also suggested political efforts to address the issue "bully students."

"As a former public school teacher, James cares about our student athletes — that’s why throughout his career he has opposed trans athletes playing girls’ sports when it jeopardizes safety or fairness," campaign spokesperson JT Ennis told OutKick on Tuesday.

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"At the same time, he’ll always stand against discrimination, especially when the most powerful politicians in the country bully students to score political points, because his faith teaches him that every child is made in the image of God."

His campaign did not say whether he would support a federal law broadly protecting women's and girls' sports from male competitors when asked, including the Protection of Women's and Girls' in Sports Act, which failed to advance in the Senate last March when every Democrat senator voted against it.

Meanwhile, his record as a state lawmaker shows he's voted against statewide restrictions on transgender participation, while frequently pushing for amendments that would have allowed male athletes in girls' sports through exceptions.

Talarico expressed his conditional opposition to males in girls' sports in a September Fox News interview.

"I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness," he said.

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But in 2021, Talarico opposed House Bill 25, which required public-school athletes in interscholastic competition to compete according to the sex recorded on their birth certificates at or near birth, with limited exceptions. Earlier that year, he voted against a bill with a similar purpose, SB 29.

Talarico authored an unsuccessful amendment removing the HB 25's requirement that birth-certificate sex entries be made at or near birth, except for clerical corrections. Before HB 25, the University Interscholastic League accepted legally modified birth certificates reflecting gender identity.

Other amendments he supported would have allowed a coach, principal or school board to approve otherwise prohibited transgender participation. Those provisions did not specify the safety or fairness tests officials would have to apply.

His opposition to laws protecting female athletes from male competitors extended to college sports.

In 2023, he voted against Senate Bill 15, which would have banned biological males from competing on women's college sports teams in Texas. He also supported an unsuccessful amendment allowing transgender athletes to compete under NCAA or NAIA eligibility requirements, with those organizations’ previous rules allowing males to compete in women's sports.

Those organizations have since changed their rules. The NCAA now bars male athletes from women’s competition, while the NAIA reserves its female sports category for athletes whose biological sex is female.

Speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival in September, Talarico rejected any suggestion that his core stance on the issue had shifted.

"No, my position is exactly the same," he stated, reiterating his view that sports eligibility decisions should be made locally on an athlete-by-athlete and sport-by-sport basis, rather than through blanket state bans.

When pressed to explain a controversial 2021 comment where he asserted that "some things are more important than perfectly fair competition in sports," Talarico claimed his original remark had been taken out of context. He explained that he was specifically talking about elementary school recreation and T-ball.

In January, he told "The Ezra Klein Show" that local officials should weigh eligibility and acknowledged that participation would sometimes be prohibited.

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OutKick asked Talarico’s campaign whether he would vote for the federal Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would prohibit male participation in female-designated athletics at federally funded institutions and define sex through reproductive biology and genetics at birth.

The campaign’s response did not answer that question, identify a federal alternative or say whether Talarico would vote differently on HB 25 today.

In a follow-up inquiry, OutKick asked how Talarico would measure safety and fairness, including the effects of male puberty, physical advantages, injury risks and lost roster spots or scholarships. The inquiry also asked whether his criteria would vary by age or sport and what binding safeguards he would require under local decision-making.

OutKick also sought an explanation for his amendment removing HB 25’s birth-certificate timing requirement and asked whether he still supports eligibility based on legally amended certificates. It also asked whether he still favors the NCAA/NAIA approach he backed for college sports.

His campaign has not responded to those questions, aside from providing the original statement.

Talarico’s position on the issue returned to the spotlight after Dallas Cowboys legend Randy White challenged his consistency while endorsing Paxton in an exclusive OutKick interview published Oct. 4.

When asked about Talarico’s past votes and recent statements on trans issues, White questioned his motives.

"I think that’s a sign that we can’t trust him," White said. "He’s going to go with the way the wind flows, whatever he feels like is the best thing for him and what his goals are."