Many people have heard of the Westboro Baptist Church. Though they have recently gained notoriety for protesting soldier’s funerals, picketing with signs that say things like “God Kills Fags” and “Thank God for AIDS,” this small, inbred independent and unrecognized “church” (read: hate group) led by Fred Phelps has actually been around since the 1950s.

So why do I bring them up in the Sports section?

In May 2000, the Westboro Baptist Church graced Tappan Square with their presence to protest the Oberlin College Athletics Department. More specifically, its decision to hire Mike Muska, the first openly gay athletics director in the United States. In a fax (oh, the ’90s) to Oberlin College, Fred Phelps announced that the Westboro Baptist Church planned on trekking from its Topeka, KS home to the “stinky, vile leper colony” of Oberlin, Ohio.

Tantamount to the significance of this milestone was the rallying cry it produced in the Oberlin College community. The community, true to its progressive form, organized an event billed as “Fun, Not Phelps,” in response.

Several campus groups, including the Oberlin Christian Fellowship, the Pagan Awareness Network and the LGBT Alliance, planned an event that flooded Tappan Square with musical performances, food and even a moonbounce to counteract the Westboro Baptist Church’s presence and display support for Muska.

The Athletics Department’s progressive ethos continues today — they are currently working on creating a Transgender Inclusion Policy.

Born from a student inquiry during Student Senate Liaison Ilyssa Meyer’s office hours last spring, a task force was formed to formulate guidelines for inclusion and respectful treatment of transgender student-athletes for Oberlin Athletics. The committee is composed of Athletics Director William Roth, Associate Athletics Director Natalie Winklefoos, Trainer Tim Carver, Director of Recreation and Club Sports Betsy Bruce, a Multicultural Resource Center representative and three students.

Winklefoos explained, “[The Athletics Department became] aware that we have a population of transgender athletes, so we decided to get in front of it and create this policy.” Ultimately, the goal of the Transgender Inclusion Policy is to ensure that “trans-identifying athletes are accommodated and encouraged by the Athletics Department,” Meyer said.

According to Meyer and Winklefoos, these guidelines are based on policies already in place at Grinnell College and Bates College. They function along with NCAA policy to make provisions to educate athletic department personnel on how to help trans-identifying athletes feel more comfortable and how to work with students to make varsity and club athletics more inclusive.

Unfortunately, varsity athletics are under stricter rules as per the NCAA, which more precisely defines who can participate in college varsity athletics. Recently, however, the NCAA has been attempting to clarify regulations surrounding transgender athletes because there are not clear provisions for their participation in college sports. College junior Chinwe Okona, co-founder of the Oberlin Queer Wellness Coalition and a member of the volleyball team, elaborated on one of the technical difficulties of participating in varsity sports, noting, “You’re either on a women’s team or a men’s team.” However, Okona continued, “I think Oberlin could be the place to navigate this.”

Luckily, our Athletics Department is up to the challenge. Winklefoos stated, “Everybody that works in this department is an ally. We’re going to do a lot of education to make [the Athletics Department] more inclusive and understanding. We want to roll out the welcome mat. It’s not just a statement we want to have in print; we want to live it. I just think that’s the way that it should be.”

Winklefoos also mentioned, “[If] I’m talking to another coach or administrator from another school and I mention the word ‘transgender,’ they get a little nervous.” Oberlin College has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to social change; hopefully Oberlin, along with Grinnell and Bates, will help open the doors to more inclusive policies so that transgender student-athletes are no longer a taboo subject in Athletics Departments.

If we open the door wide enough, I wouldn’t count out a visit from Fred Phelps in the near future.