An eighth-grade boy from Arizona was removed from his high school’s boys basketball tryouts and told he can only play on the girls team because of a clerical error on his birth certificate.

Sitting at his kitchen island doing homework, Laker Jackson, an eighth-grade student at Eastmark High School, is thinking about his time outside of the classroom.

Laker Jackson, 14, was removed from his high school’s boys basketball tryouts because of a clerical error on his birth certificate.(Source: KTVK/KPHO via CNN)

“I like the team aspect of the sport a lot,” he said. “I like to play basketball, I wrestle and I like football a lot.”

But the multi-talented athlete was excluded from high school basketball tryouts last Tuesday because of a clerical error on his original birth certificate.

His mother, Becky Jackson, says there was a mix-up at the hospital the day he was born.

“I give them the birth certificate, and they’re like, ‘Did you know this says female?’” Jackson said.

“I was like, ‘Oh, man, that’s so funny.’ So, we come home. Everyone’s laughing.”

Over the years, the fact that Laker’s birth certificate mistakenly listed him as female hasn’t caused many issues – until he decided to try out for the boys basketball team.

“They sent the athletic director of Eastmark High to physically remove Laker from the basketball tryouts in front of all of his friends, in front of the coach,” Jackson said.

Laker said the incident became a topic of conversation among his classmates.

“From my friends, I heard they were talking about it for the entire tryout and even the next day’s tryouts because they were really confused,” he said.

The Queen Creek Unified School District said in a statement it wants to ensure “fairness, integrity, and equal opportunity” when it comes to athletics.

Because Laker’s birth certificate lists him as female, he has been told he has to play on either the coed or girls basketball team.

“Our schools rely on a student’s original birth certificate at birth to determine athletic eligibility,” the statement read.

Laker’s parents got a corrected birth certificate along with a note from a doctor, but the district says that isn’t enough.

“Now, they may consider changing it if we get chromosomal testing.

They didn’t say they would. It says they may,” Jackson said.

Chromosome testing comes with a hefty price tag, and the Jacksons say the district is missing the mark altogether.

Meanwhile, Laker just wants to play basketball.

The school district’s full statement can be read below:

“Queen Creek Unified School District is committed to ensuring fairness, integrity, and equal opportunity in all athletic programs for both boys and girls.

We take great care to follow state and district guidelines that support competitive equity and student well-being. (Policy 5-410 and ARS 15-120.02 as well as AIA bylaw 14.11.6).

In this particular case, the student has been enrolled in QCUSD since elementary school and has been registered as a biological female throughout their time in our district.

The day before basketball tryouts, the parent submitted a new birth certificate and a doctor’s note indicating a gender change.

Our schools rely on a student’s original birth certificate at birth to determine athletic eligibility.

This student’s parent reached out to our district and asked for help finding a solution.

We informed the parent that documentation such as a chromosome analysis could be considered to help support or verify eligibility in accordance with policy.

Our team communicated this information directly to the family and expressed our willingness to work together toward a resolution.

We have not yet received a response but remain open and committed to ongoing dialogue.

QCUSD values every student and family and will continue to approach all matters with compassion, transparency, and a steadfast commitment to maintaining integrity in both boys and girls athletics.”