Transgender Women's Basketball Player At GW Quits Team
WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) - The openly transgender member of the George Washington women's basketball team, whose groundbreaking season was cut short by a pair of concussions, says he won't play in his senior year.
The school announced that Kye Allums "has decided that it is in his best interest to no longer participate in intercollegiate athletics."
"I alone came to this conclusion," Allums said in a statement released by the university, "and I thank the athletic department for respecting my wishes."
The statement offered no further details, although GW said Allums has enrolled in classes for the fall semester. Allums did not immediately respond to an email request for an interview Wednesday.
Allums made international headlines when he announced before the start of the season in November that he preferred to be known as a man. He said he was putting off hormone treatments and gender-changing surgery so that he could continue to play for the women's team.
"GW has been supportive during this transition. This means a lot. I didn't choose to be born in this body and feel the way I do. I decided to transition, that is change my name and pronouns because it bothered me to hide who I am, and I am trying to help myself and others to be who they are. I told my teammates first, and they, including my coaches, have supported me. My teammates have embraced me as the big brother of the team. They have been my family, and I love them all," Allums said then.
"The George Washington University women's basketball program, including myself, support Kye's right to make this decision," coach Mike Bozeman said in a statement after the November announcement.
But Allums suffered two concussions early in the season and played in only eight games. He told The Associated Press in March that he has had suffered a total of eight concussions, that he was having memory problems and that he was unsure whether he would be cleared medically to play his senior season. He said doctors told him that if he were a football player, his playing days would certainly be over.
"I'm a fighter. I'm still trying to come back," he said at the time. "I really do want to come back and play."
In 45 games for the Colonials, Allums average 6.4 points-per-game including a career high of 21 points against La Salle in January 2010.
According to the university, Allums is still enrolled and is registered for the fall semester at the Washington, D.C. campus.
(Copyright 2011 - The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
