FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships kicked off Thursday, Jan. 27, in Fayetteville. Along with excitement for the sport, the event brought attention to an issue impacting athletes in the cycling community - transgender rights.
Molly Cameron is an elite cyclist with a 15-year long professional career. She came to Fayetteville for the 2022 UCI Cyclocross World Championship but did not compete. She came to advocate for inclusivity and diversity within the cycling community and promote transgender rights in Arkansas.
“I’m going to hesitate to say it’s a culture of hate, but it is a culture of fear,” Cameron said.
Molly flew to Arkansas in the spring of 2021 when the Arkansas Legislature passed two bills limiting the rights of transgender youth in Arkansas. One bill was the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which barred transgender girls and women from competing in school sports. The second was the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act which made it illegal to provide transgender youth with gender-affirming healthcare. Molly said that open conversation and compassion are crucial for building a better future for transgender athletes.
After hearing about the bills, Molly said, “I needed to get down to Arkansas and talk to Arkansans, see what they think.”
According to Molly, companies and organizations within cycling need to take laws like the ones in Arkansas into account when deciding how to invest their money and efforts. She says that while not every company needs to become an advocacy organization, they do have a responsibility to protect the interests of their LGBTQIA+ athletes and customers.
“These events bring in millions of dollars. There have been hundreds of millions of dollars put into this event," Molly said. "Just coming here and accessing all these resources and using all these volunteers and all the citizens of the state and not addressing human rights issues while you’re doing it is unacceptable."
Molly founded RIDE, or Riders Inspiring Diversity and Equality, last spring in response to what she called “a wave of anti-trans legislation.” RIDE works with cycling and athletic organizations to promote equality and inclusion for LGBTQIA+ athletes.
“You know I spent two months of this last year in Northwest Arkansas, and I’m like, 'There are a lot of really good people here in Northwest Arkansas,'” Molly said.
People like Quin Thompson, a race volunteer and long-time friend of Molly Cameron.
When asked about his trans flag wristband, Quin said, “It’s really a simple answer, it’s an easy thing to do just to say, ‘Hey. We’re there for you.'"
RIDE started selling these wristbands designed with transgender flag colors to raise money for their advocacy work and provide cyclists and other athletes with a way to demonstrate support for trans athletes visibly.
“You know we want to support the transgender community and transgender cyclists and everybody that’s here suffering under these laws,” Molly said.
The UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championship will continue through Sunday, January 30, at Centennial Park in Fayetteville. For more information about Molly Cameron and RIDE’s advocacy efforts, visit their website.
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