Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Heights family with a transgender child faces an uncertain future in Ohio
The Burkle family’s home in Cleveland Heights is warmly lit, filled with the sounds of laughter and joy — a contrast to the grey winter weather outside. The family’s two children laugh as they play video games and leaf through magazines with their parents, Alicia and Aaron.
However, that joy is mixed with a sense of dread about the future and what that future means for the Burkles’ younger child, 11-year-old Astrid, who is transgender.
The Ohio Senate is expected to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of House Bill 68 this week, which would ban transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming medical treatments or playing on girls’ sports teams.
Astrid said she knew she was a girl very early in her life.
“That was right around when I could talk. I started voicing my feelings about who I was to my parents about preschool or pre-K,” she said.
With her family’s support, she decided to socially transition when she was 8.
“When I did transition, I realized I needed this to live as a full person of who I am,” Astrid said.
She added: “It makes me feel happy. I can’t explain how happy I am to just be who I am.”
Community support
Astrid and her family said their interactions with her classmates, school officials, neighbors and the community have been mostly positive.
Ryan Loew
/
Ideastream Public Media
Alicia, Astrid’s mom, said school officials in Cleveland Heights actively worked with the family to support her daughter.
“We put together a plan on what bathrooms Astrid would use, how could we communicate this transition and change to her classmates so that anybody who knew Astrid before, we could communicate that with them,” Alicia said. The family also established the name and pronouns Astrid now uses.
Aaron Burkle, Astrid’s father, said the school system acts quickly whenever there are any problems.
“When there was any kind of negative talk or bullying language, the school administration, the teachers and staff really handled it swiftly and appropriately,” he said.
Most of their neighbors have been accepting, too.
“Most of them are just like, ‘Oh, OK, cool’ or they might say, ‘What does that mean?’ or ‘How did you know?’ We’re always willing to share our story, explain the process. Astrid is willing to tell them her story, just so they can understand better our journey,” Alicia said.
An uncertain future in Ohio
Astrid said the support of her neighbors and school makes her feel accepted in her community.
“I just feel so happy that people are accepting where I am and who I am,” she said.
Astrid knows not everyone feels the same — that they think she’s too young to express a gender other than the one she was assigned at birth. But she rejects what she views as their prying into a personal matter.
“Why is it anybody else’s business? They should be worrying about other things. I’m just a kid going to the doctors. You don’t need to worry about it,” she said.
Astrid has not received any medical treatments related to her gender. Yet she and her family resent the idea that she will likely be unable to receive such treatments in Ohio should she seek them in the future.
Her sibling, Abs, who is 15, said legislation banning medical treatment is a tremendous concern, not only for Astrid, but the entire LGBTQ+ community.
She added lawmakers need to understand “the fear that they’re striking into the hearts of young, queer people everywhere,” and that the long-term impact of such legislation is frightening.
“I, myself, am queer,” Abs said. “And it’s more than just they’re attacking young, transgender folk because then they’re going to move to transgender adults, and then they’re going to move to gay marriage, and they’re going to continue to attack our community as a whole.”
Alicia said if HB 68 becomes law, as is expected to happen, her family will be left with a terrible choice.
“We love our community,” she said. “We love our school, we love our church. We love our family and friends that we have here, so we don’t want to leave here. But that’s not something we’ve taken off the table because there’s more legislation coming down the pipeline [that] could make it ultimately unsafe for Astrid to continue to live in the state.”
That’s the dilemma facing transgender children and their parents throughout the state, Alicia said. But in the meantime, Astrid said she’s going to continue to live the fulfilling life she and her family have created in the city and state they call home.
“Just because I’m transgender doesn’t mean I’m not a normal person,” she said. “There’s lots of normal people who are transgender, and I’m just one of them.”
Cleveland, OH
List Of Athletes That Participated In WWE Public Tryouts During SummerSlam Week In Cleveland, OH.
A list of those who participated in the WWE SummerSlam Public Tryouts in Cleveland, Ohio has surfaced online.
X user @lexveraux shared the following list of male and female talents that took part in the latest WWE tryouts.
Sirena Linton (NCAA All-American Gymnast)
Sofia Grace Iaderosa (Pro soccer player)
Terralicia Mercadel (Track and Field athlete and Powerlifter)
Daryn Harris (Kickboxer)
Emilie Henningsen (Acrobat and Tumbler)
Darci Khan (Track & Field Athlete)
Hayley Montoya (Volleyball Player)
Makenna Turner (Stanford Rowing Team)
Alona Olshevska (NCAA All-American)
Emily Buchette (Lacrosse Player)
Jaiden Fields (Softball Player)
Kaitlyn Banas (Track And Field Athlete)
Karyn Best (Track And Field Athlete)
Kennedy Brace (Track And Field Athlete)
Elena Carter (Track And Field Athlete)
Bayley Humphrey (Gymnast)
Naofal Abouelhouda (Crossfit Athlete)
Elijah Holyfield (Football Player, Son of Evander Holyfield)
Shane Bonner (Defensive End)
Camden Gagnon (Defensive Lineman)
Chase Kline (Linebacker)
Atrilleon Williams (Football Player)
Greg Benton Jr (Football Player)
Jeremy Mercier (Linebacker)
Kyle Klink (Linebacker)
Carlos Aviles (Track And Field Athlete)
Matthew Tago (Football Player)
Isaiah Chambers (Defensive Lineman)
Hayden Hatcher (Linebacker)
Terrance Taylor (Linebacker)
Von Young IV (Football Player)
Jack Freeman (Offensive Lineman)
• Track & Field at the Concordia University Irvine Athletics
• NXT’s Kale Dixon girlfriend pic.twitter.com/67X8pNM4ul— Alex (@lexveraux) August 3, 2024
• Lacrosse Player for the Southern Wesleyan Lacrosse Team
• 5’6 pic.twitter.com/GLZRL6wz5z— Alex (@lexveraux) August 3, 2024
• member of the fourth class of WWE NIL
• Mexican-American, 5’2
• NCAA All-American Gymnast
• University of Arkansas & Arizona Alumna
• grew up watching WWE and has always dreamed of being part of it. pic.twitter.com/j1qrh8oKI5— Alex (@lexveraux) August 3, 2024
• part of the inagural class of WWE NIL in 2021
• tOSU Track & Field
• 2x El Salvadoran National Champion
Barstool Athlete pic.twitter.com/4cSpyQJQdu— Alex (@lexveraux) August 4, 2024
“”
• 24 yrs old, 6’1 x 202 lbs
• former Syracus University’s football player, currently a free agent pic.twitter.com/txxXKW0MBJ— Alex (@lexveraux) August 4, 2024
• 6’0 x 220 lbs from New Concord, OH
• Defensive End for the Ohio Bobcats pic.twitter.com/HFfVuehrVt— Alex (@lexveraux) August 4, 2024
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians bolstered their bullpen with a pair of fresh arms ahead of Sunday’s series finale against Baltimore, recalling right-hander Eli Morgan from Triple-A Columbus and selecting righty Connor Gillispie from the Clippers.
Lefty starter Joey Cantillo, who allowed three runs in four innings during Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Orioles, and righty Xzavion Curry, who surrendered four runs in three relief innings, were optioned to the minors to make room on the active roster.
Gillispie, 26, was selected by the Guardians in December as part of the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. Prior to joining Cleveland’s organization, Gillispie made 87 appearances (40 starts), going 19-17 with a 4.00 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and eight saves in 11 opportunities as part of Baltimore’s farm system. He was a ninth-round pick of the Orioles in the 2019 MLB draft.
This season, Gillispie has started 11 games and worked out of the bullpen in nine for the Clippers, compiling a 3-7 record and 4.01 ERA in 89 2/3 innings. He has posted a 23.3% strikeout rate and a 10.5% walk rate while surrendering 19 home runs.
Pitching coach Carl Willis said Gillispie has started and worked out of the bullpen this season and brings a five-pitch mix to the mound. After using righty Pedro Avila on back-to-back nights against Baltimore, the Guardians felt Gillispie was best positioned to help the bullpen in the short term.
“We needed some length, and just from a strike-throwing perspective and the pitch mix, we felt like he was our best option to come up and give us some length here (Sunday),” Willis said.
Morgan, 28, is 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 13 appearances for Cleveland this season, including 10 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. He spent two stints on the major league injured list before being optioned to Columbus on July 4.
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As Baltimore Ravens defensive end Brent Urban prepares for his 11th NFL season, it’s just as important as ever for him to remember where he came from.
A Mississauga, Ontario native, Urban suffered a torn ACL during his 2010 freshman season at Virginia, but rebounded to eventually become a starting defensive lineman. Then once he got to the NFL, he suffered three season-ending injuries – a torn ACL in 2014, a torn bicep in 2015 and a Lisfranc foot injury in 2017 – all in his first four seasons. As a result, he played just 25 games across those four seasons, 16 of them coming in 2016.
Urban, now in his second stint with the Ravens, has certainly been through the wringer throughout his career, but his perserverance to get where he is now is extremely impressive. As such, head coach John Harbaugh is using Urban’s story as inspiration for his younger teammates.
“I’m going to start using [Brent Urban] as an example for those guys, because it’s a perfect point,” Harbaugh told reporters. “I can remember him right over there, we were doing an inside-run drill against the [San Francisco] 49ers when we had the joint practices all of those years ago, and he tore his ACL right at the end of practice. It was like, ‘Oh.’ It was so heartbreaking, and [he] missed that whole year.
“We had high hopes for him coming out, we thought he was an odd-front defensive end in the Pittsburgh Steeler kind of realm, like the Brett Keisels of the world, and he’s turned out to be just that. He’s just that kind of player; he plays so well. But those first couple of years were tough, and here he is now. He’s got a testimony as a result of all the tests he’s been through.”
After his first stint with the Ravens came to an end in 2019, Urban has played for the Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys. He then returned to Baltimore in 2022, and last season, he set a career high with three sacks.
Now the veteran on the Ravens’ defensive line, Urban is happy to be a mentor to the younger players at his position group.
“Just being in the league is privilege,” Urban said. “Every single day, you’ve just got to relish it, because you see so many guys in and out, and just even looking at my class now, nobody’s still around; so just finding your own role, just appreciating it. As I get older, I’ve started to be able to take a seat back and really just appreciate how thankful I am to be here.”
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