'Changing the Game' Full Cast List: Meet Mack Beggs, Andraya Yearwood and Sarah Rose Huckman of Hulu's LGBTQ docu
In 2018, a high school student, Mack Beggs, made headlines when he bagged the title of Texas State Champion in girls wrestling and the incident brought to light the issue of transgender inclusion in sports.
In order to kickstart the Pride Month celebrations in June, Hulu has acquired Emmy award-winning filmmaker Michael Barnett’s documentary 'Changing the Game'. The documentary follows three teenage athletes who are at different stages of their athletic seasons, personal lives, and unique paths as transgender teens. Their stories span across the US — from Sarah, a skier and teen policymaker in New Hampshire, to Andraya, a track star in Connecticut openly competing on the girls track team. However, the film centers on the 3rd athlete, Mack Beggs. Read on to know all about the cast of this inspiring and thought-provoking documentary.
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You can watch the trailer of 'Changing the Game' here.
Mack Beggs
In the trailer for 'Changing the Game' Beggs can be heard saying, "I'm able to be me and that's all I ever wanted to do." "I do train as hard as a man, I fight as hard as a man. I am a man, and I'm the state champ of female high school wrestling," he adds. Beggs is a high school wrestler from Eules, Texas. He is a trans man, and since the state athletic rules only permit a person to compete in the category of sex assigned at birth, Beggs competed in the girls' wrestling league. He defeated Chelsea Sanchez in 2017 and 2018 to bag the title of Texas State Champion in girls wrestling.
Beggs is an activist for transgender student-athlete rights across the country. He is currently enrolled at Life University, and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Social Change, to become a Gender Therapist.
Sarah Rose Huckman
Huckman is a sophomore at University of New Hampstead (UNH), where she is pursuing a major in communications and minor in social work. Huckman and her twin brother were born in Cambodia and were adopted at seven months old. In high school, Huckman competed in cross country and Nordic skiing teams. Although she currently doesn't compete in college sports and is more focused on academics and activism, she still continues to be very passionate about working towards supporting the LGBTQ community. As a transgender activist, she works alongside legislative members to pass bills that are in support of the LGBTQ community.
In an open letter published in The Conway Daily Sun, Huckman wrote, "As a girl who happens to be transgender, sports meant something else, too — they were life-saving. I wouldn’t be who I am today — a happy, healthy, UNH freshman — if it weren’t for those teams. The support from other athletes and coaches — those on my team, and those athletes and coaches I competed against — have molded me into who I am today. I hope other transgender girls are able to find the joy in sports like I did. Learning to work as a team and to believe in yourself is life-changing."
Andraya Yearwood
Yearwood is a transgender student-athlete from Connecticut, who gained international media attention after she came second-place at the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) 100-yard dash finals in 2017, behind another transgender student. The families of three students who have competed against Yearwood have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to bar trans athletes from competing in women's teams in Connecticut; the families are represented by the conservative nonprofit organization, Alliance Defending Freedom.
In 2021, the Biden administration withdrew former Attorney General William Barr’s support of the exclusion of Yearwood, reconsidering her right as a woman and to play women's sports. She has also received recruitment interest from Harvard University, the University of Connecticut, Springfield College and West Point to run track and field in the NCAA.
In an interview with Bleacher Report, Yearwood shared, "Just because the government erases the word ‘transgender,’ that doesn't mean that we don't exist," she says. "That doesn't mean that I'm not still transgender. I'm here today to advocate for transgender individuals and to allow them to be able to live in their truth without having to hide or be afraid
'Changing the Game' premieres on June 1, only on Hulu.