June 10, 2026 / Leave a Comment
What does it mean for a body to belong? That question is at the center of Ellie Roscher’s work — and it turns out, it’s also at the center of every conversation about responsible leadership, psychological safety, and what it actually costs a company when people don’t feel safe showing up as themselves.
In this Pride Month episode, Marcy sits down with Ellie Roscher, Minneapolis-based author, educator, former two-sport college athlete, and co-author of Fair Game: Trans Athletes and the Future of Sports (Bookshop, Amazon), to talk about the book, the moment we’re in, and why the fight over who gets to play is about so much more than sports. From the myths being used to exclude trans athletes to the structural failures that harm everyone — athletes, employees, and leaders alike — this is a conversation about bodies, belonging, and what courageous leadership looks like right now.
Meet Ellie Roscher
Ellie Roscher (she/they) is a writer, educator, podcaster, coach, and speaker. She was a two-sport college athlete, is the author of several books, and lives in Minneapolis. Her other books include The Embodied Path, 12 Tiny Things, Play Like a Girl, How Coffee Saved My Life, and Remarkable Rose. She teaches writing and yoga in Minneapolis, and holds a master’s degree in Theology/Urban Ministry from Luther Seminary and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College.
Her most recent book, Fair Game: Trans Athletes and the Future of Sports (Bookshop, Amazon), co-authored with Dr. Anna Baeth, explores the roadblocks transgender athletes face and the triumphs they achieve despite these challenges. Roscher and Baeth interrogate the sex-segregation of the sports world and outline how restrictions put in place to police the participation of trans athletes are rooted in patriarchy — and tend to hurt cisgender participants as well.
About Fair Game
Fair Game offers an insightful, timely examination of the ongoing battle for equality in athletics. As LGBTQ athletes break barriers in the Olympics, transgender athletes still face harsh restrictions in many areas. The book explores the role of sports in the lives of transgender youth and adults, offering a comprehensive, nuanced, and multivoiced picture of the transgender athletic experience. Thoroughly researched and rigorously argued, the book offers a striking account of the hostile political climate fueled by scapegoating and misinformation, and counters it with the substantial body of evidence showing that trans inclusion strengthens athletic communities for everyone who participates. Dr. Nicholas PearceSeminary Co-op Bookstores
The book features a foreword by Chris Mosier, the first known trans athlete to represent the United States in international competition and the founder of transathlete.com.
In This Episode
Marcy and Ellie cover a lot of ground — here’s what you’ll hear:
On the book and its origins — How a conversation between a sports sociologist and a narrative writer became a rigorous, story-driven case for trans inclusion in athletics, and why it took an extra year just to get research approval to interview trans youth (and why that was the right call).
On the myths — The most persistent false narratives driving anti-trans sports legislation, why less than 8% of media coverage of trans athletes actually names a trans athlete, and what the data actually shows about physiology, hormones, and competitive fairness.
On what’s really at stake — Why banning trans girls from sports sends a message to everyone, cis girls and cis boys included, about who and what has value. And why the fight over trans athletes is a distraction from the structural inequities that harm every athlete.
On corporate inclusion — The same arguments being used to exclude trans people from sports are being used to exclude them from workplaces. Ellie talks about bathroom access, psychological safety, and what it actually costs an organization when people are forced to spend energy just navigating survival.
On embodied leadership — Ellie’s practice of bringing the body back into the meeting room: why a 30-second check-in changes the energy of every meeting she facilitates, and what leaders miss when they ask people to leave their bodies at the door.
On writing and books — Ellie’s advice for anyone with a book in them, and the one book she’s working through with a group right now that every leader should read.
Shownotes
The Book
- Fair Game: Trans Athletes and the Future of Sports — Ellie Roscher and Dr. Anna Baeth, with a foreword by Chris Mosier (The New Press, 2026) (Bookshop, Amazon),
- The Embodied Path (Bookshop, Amazon) — Ellie Roscher
People and Organizations Mentioned
- Chris Mosier — transathlete.com, foreword contributor and trans athlete advocate
- Dr. Anna Baeth — co-author, Director of Research at Athlete Ally
- Green Card Voices — Minneapolis-based storytelling organization
Other Books Mentioned
Resources
- transathlete.com — policy tracking and resources for trans athletes
Listen Now
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