Kye Allums was a guard on the George Washington University women’s basketball team for three seasons. In November 2010, he came out as a trans man, becoming the first openly transgender NCAA Division I athlete.
His announcement attracted nationwide media attention and shifted the conversation around gender and sports, and how the community should treat them equally.
Allums grew up in Circle Pines, Minnesota, and starred at Centennial High School before accepting a scholarship to GWU.
From 2008 to 2011, he balanced practices, travel, and studio art classes while privately fighting with his identity.
Halfway through his junior year, he realized hiding who he was was harder than any challenge on the court.
Rather than step away from basketball, Allums remained on the women’s roster. NCAA rules at the time required trans men to complete a year of hormone therapy before competing on a men’s team.
Guidelines Were Changed Due To Him
He used the spotlight to explain to reporters, “I am trying to help myself and others to be who they are.” His teammates stood by him and treated him like any other guard.
In May 2011, GWU announced that Allums would leave the basketball program. Multiple injuries and a desire to focus on his health led to that decision. He suffered a total of eight concussions in his college career.
He graduated that summer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and immediately set his sights on a career in advocacy work.
Allums returned to Centennial High School to speak at a full‐school assembly on gender inclusion and sports.
At George Washington University, he addressed the student‐run LGBTQ Leadership Conference and spoke to the Fine Arts department about creativity and identity.
He joined Laverne Cox at MTV screenings of The T Word in New York and Los Angeles, where they answered audience questions about transgender visibility through the “I Am Enough” project.
Later, he also launched the “I Am Enough” storytelling workshops at community centers in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., which helped LGBTQ+ individuals share personal queries with audiences.
In 2015, the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame inducted Allums. The NCAA also updated its guidelines to allow transgender men to compete on men’s teams.
However, it required one year of hormone therapy to clarify the process for transgender women.
Kye Allums now works full-time as an LGBTQ+ rights advocate, public speaker, artist, and mentor, traveling through high schools, colleges, and community centers to share his journey.
Alongside speaking, he also created different storyline projects, published book of poems, also leads workshops for LGBTQ+ youths, and help them build confidence forr both academics and in sports.
