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Women’s sports have come to the fore in recent years, but despite record-breaking performances and sold-out arenas, women’s sports have far less money than men’s sports. Instead of addressing this issue, we’ve seen a flood of bills and news stories that disparage trans and non-binary athletes. As the Human Rights Campaign points out,
In the 15 states that have passed or have anti-bullying sports bills, whose data was included in a USA Today report, schools spent $64 million more on men’s than women’s sports — or about $0.70 on women’s sports for every $1 spent on men’s sports.
That’s why task #7 of the 2026 Read Harder Challenge is “Read a sports book by a female, trans, or non-binary author.” There are many people who pretend their transphobia is to “protect women’s sports” – without listening to female athletes, talking about unequal funding, or even supporting their teams.
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee recently banned trans women and many intersex people from competing in the Olympic Games. Hundreds of human rights and scientific groups oppose the new gender testing requirements, calling them “an outrageous and discriminatory response that is not supported by science and violates international human rights law.” It’s important to listen to the experiences of trans, nonbinary, and intersex athletes, and I hope we see more books like this in the near future.
You may note that this work is about “playbooks” in general, not just fiction, so playbooks count too. Below, I have four fiction recommendations, from memoirs to general reference, as well as four fiction recommendations, from historical fiction to sports romance.
The Fair Game: How Games Shape Gender Debates by Katie Barnes
Just as professional female athletes are starting to get the support and pay they deserve, their world is being rocked by the political (AKA transphobic) debate surrounding the inclusion of transgender athletes. Katie Barnes is a journalist who has been reporting on equality in sports and trans athletes for years. Their book Fair play it’s a great, multifaceted exploration of gender and identity at different levels in the world of sports, from the Olympics to youth leagues and everything in between. Barnes puts today’s hot topics into historical context and considers the future of gender in sports. They do a great job of shedding light on how different these issues are, despite the fact that both sides are trying to oversimplify, and offer some thought-provoking suggestions about what a more gender-inclusive sports world could look like. —Susie Dumond
Coming Home by Brittney Griner and Michelle Burford
Although Brittney Griner is an award-winning WBNA player and Olympic gold medalist, this powerful documentary is about a dark time in her life when she was unable to play basketball. In February 2022, Grinner traveled to Russia to play basketball during the WNBA offseason. Instead, he was arrested and imprisoned for mistakenly taking prescription hash oil. For the first time, she recounts what it was like to lose her freedom and become the first American woman sent to a Russian penal colony, and how she remained strong and never lost hope of returning home. — Liberty Hardy
All Access members read six more sports books by feminist, trans, and non-binary authors, including fiction and non-fiction titles.
Girls: The All-American Village, The Invasive Doctor, and the Untold Story of the Gymnasts Who Took Her Down by Abigail Pesta.
Award-winning journalist Abigail Pesta covers the untold story of the girls who met Larry Nassar. For years before his sexual abuse came to light, he worked at a gym in a small town in Michigan. Girls is the story of a group of gymnasts who yearn to meet Nassar as he honors his predatory ways in their all-American town. Pesta gives these survivors a place to share their untold stories. – Addison Rizer
OutOfShapeWorthlessLoser: A Memoir of Figure Skating, F*cking Up, and Figuring It Out by Gracie Gold.
In this brutally honest account, Gracie Gold, one of America’s top figure skaters, talks about how she suffered in private while smiling in public. Gold recounts her struggle with disordered eating and suicidal thoughts, and her recovery from sexual abuse, while skating on her own as an American Olympian. It’s an all-too-common sad story of the pressures of celebrity and competitive sports, and Gold is to be commended for her bravery. — Liberty Hardy
In a League of Her Own by Kaia Alderson
Do you know the name of the only woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Maybe not. But you should. Effa Manley is an ambitious Harlem entrepreneur and passionate champion of civil rights. So when her husband buys her a baseball team to run away from, she is not happy to be put on this boy’s team. She manages to whip them into shape, however, leading them to the Negro Leagues Champions of 1946. But there are many people who would like to see this woman put back where she thought she belonged. Not that he’s about to let them. —Rachel Brittain
Check, please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
This fun series is based on Eric, a young champion skater who decides to play for his university’s hockey team. There is no doubt that he is not completely ready for the role, but with the help of his new team, he learns to deal with the physicality of hockey, while he continues to experience stress from the captain of the team. This book written by a Nigerian-American writer, who immediately faced the problems of prohibition, is a beautiful story about friendship and good attitude. —Leah Rachel von Essen
Courtesy of Katie Chandler
Tennis is as much about reading your opponent as it is about playing them. When tennis star Juliette Ricci finds her match for the Australian Open, she finds out she’s playing against the unstoppable, Luca Kacic. The universe must have a sense of humor because Luca sees a soulmate tattoo on Juliette’s arm (soulmate symbols, a major fanfic trope). From enemies to reluctant friends to something else, their tennis rivalry never ends. — Julia Rittenberg
The Prospects by KT Hoffman
At KT Hoffman’s The Prospectsreaders meet Gene Ionescu, the first openly trans professional baseball player. Gene is finally pitching for his minor league team, the Beaverton Beavers, when his biggest rival is traded to his team. But the electric tension between Gene and Luis slowly turns into the kind of chemistry that can help them win in the long run – on and off the field. It is truly a joy filled love to have baseball fans and sports haters rooting for the Beavers with all their hearts. —Susie Dumond
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