Arizona boy forced to play on girls basketball team over birth certificate error

[pnwmom]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: NY Post

An Arizona 14-year-old boy was barred from playing for his high school’s boys’ basketball team, but told he could join the girls’ roster because of a clerical error on his birth certificate.

Laker Jackson was “physically removed” from the Eastmark High School gym in the middle of tryouts for the boys basketball team on Oct. 14 when school officials determined that he was breaking the school’s policy regarding “fairness and equality” of its athletic teams.

“They sent the athletic director of Eastmark High to physically remove Laker from the basketball tryouts in front of all of his friends, in front of the coach,” the teen’s mother, Becky Jackson, told AZFamily.

Jackson’s birth certificate had incorrectly marked him as female when he was born.

Read more: https://nypost.com/2025/10/18/us-news/arizona-teen-boy-laker-jackson-forced-to-play-on-girls-basketball-team-over-birth-certificate-error/

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Instead, they're offering the biological boy the chance to play on the girls team.

He doesn't want to, but rules are rules!

[twodogsbarking]

1. Why would one assume that high school would ever make sense?

[kimbutgar]

2. That happened to my son but I was able to get a correct birth certificate saying it was a clerical error on part of the

Hospital. The same day I gave birth to my son another woman in the room with me had a girl and the guy handing the birth certificates registration made the error.

[Igel]

7. Sounds like they did exactly that but the school rejected it.

Now, two options seem likely, without stretching much.

Perhaps this is merely extreme stupidity and foolishness on the part of the school (district?--it's Queen Creek, don't know how large the school district is), scared of running afoul of the text of the law.

Or perhaps it's an intentional act of trying to make a larger political point on the back of a middle schooler. They say the law must absolutely mean one thing and whatever common sense or the actual reading of the law may say (in context) they will stick to it as the One True Meaning mostly as a way of embarrassing and mocking those they disagree with, and, well, if the kid gets hurt it's not their fault, right?

With the "book ban" law in FL you saw this--you read the statute, you read the AG's memo of advice, look at school district pronouncements and had to wonder. (I mean, I could *get* the district's interpretation of the law from the text, but it took a bit of head tilting, standing back, and squinting through my fingers. Wasn't impossible, just didn't seem to be in the top 95% of likely outcomes. But it was easier to see once you were told what it was and decided you liked that interpretation because, well, it made a political point.)

[Brother Buzz]

3. My name is Sue, how do you do?

[AverageOldGuy]

4. Go to court

The article says the doc issued a new bireth certificate and a letter attesting to the fact that the kid is a boy, was born a boy, and the checkmark on the original birth certificate is an error.

School officials refused to accept the doc's explanation.


Take the evidence to the local general district court and get a court order invalidating the original birth certificate.

My wife's name on her birth certificate is T R LASTNAME. She was never called by T , always called R. When we were married, she put R LASTNAME on the marriage application and she is married as R LASTNAME MYLASTNAME.'

But DMV got into the act and said, no, birth cert says T is your first name so your driver's license will show T LASTNAME MYLASTNAME. We went to local district court who issued an order stating that her name is what she wants it to be. Back to DMV, DL issued in the name she wants. Case closed.

[pnwmom]

5. I'm glad it was that easy for her. I bet it might not be for this boy in 2025. nt

[BaronChocula]

6. This would make a great adaptation of

The Crucible.

[Norrrm]

8. Then, they will insist that 'she' shower with the other girls?

??? .... Oh, of course not!

[Omaha Steve]

9. AFTER a review by forum hosts LOCKING

LOCKING for source.

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