One of the jewels of the Barça youth team will not be able to play with the first team or be a professional unless there is a change in international regulations. Kendall Martin (Blanes, 2004) is one of the ‘pearls’ of Barça CBS B, a subsidiary of the Catalan club that plays in the Endesa Women’s League. one of the best domestic competitions on the planet. But, for the moment, she will not be able to fulfill his dream. She is a trans player, and in basketball it is not recommended that they be able to go beyond the fourth category of national basketball…although he can play in regional competitions.
The FIBA recommends that transgender people not perform in higher women’s categories. So much so that when Martin was promoted last year with CEEB Tordera he had to change teams to continue in a category governed by the Catalan federation. “I am not better for having been a man. If I play on a team that is not at the level, it will be superior. And also basketball is not a sport that is only based on the physical, there is more beyond that. Plus the medication, with which the body can’t handle it as much,” he acknowledges in an interview with ‘ABC’.
If I play on a team that is not at the level, it will be higher
Kendall Martin
His story begins with playing basketball from the age of six until he began the transition at 14. He would return to the sport and shine in a prolific youth academy, as Barça is on the way to fighting to be a Copa de la Reina team with its first team. “I don’t understand why you can’t play in basketball and you can in other sports,” he adds. In the sport of basket ball the case is the same as in athletics, swimming or rugby.
“Only people who have no idea can say that I play with an advantage,” repeats the 1.86 meter tall player. “In some categories it may be because of my height or my jumping ability, but in the Women’s League there are players just as tall as me,” she told ‘EL MUNDO’. Martin maintains that he has no advantage.
Although in his career he has experienced all kinds of situations, such as his team having to play games in which he played again, not being in promotion phases… “It’s illegal, that’s why all the lawyers move. What I want is to compete, not just play or train with people who don’t have the level,” he says.
2023-12-09 13:01:30
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