{"id":406760,"date":"2026-01-13T16:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T16:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/406760\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T16:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T16:59:08","slug":"the-trans-youth-athletes-in-the-us-fighting-for-their-rights-playing-is-an-act-of-resistance-us-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/406760\/","title":{"rendered":"The trans youth athletes in the US fighting for their rights: \u2018Playing is an act of resistance\u2019 | US news"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US supreme court<\/a> on Tuesday is considering state laws banning transgender athletes from school sports.<\/p>\n

The cases were brought by trans students who challenged bans in West Virginia<\/a> and Idaho<\/a> barring trans girls from girls teams. The outcome could have wide-ranging implications for LGBTQ+ rights<\/a>. A total of 27 states<\/a> have passed sports bans<\/a> targeting trans youth<\/a> while more than 20 states<\/a> have maintained pro-LGBTQ+ policies.<\/p>\n

As the highest court in the US debates their rights to participate in school sports, five trans youth and their families spoke to the Guardian about the role athletics has played in their lives. The students are based in California<\/a>, a state that has long had trans-inclusive policies.<\/p>\n

The youth described the joy sports brings them and how meaningful it has been to play on teams that match their gender identity. They said sports were about community, team-building, socializing and exercising, like they are for so many youth in the US. Some expressed frustration and anxiety about the national debates focused on \u201cfairness\u201d in competition, saying the legal battle was about fighting for their place in society and their fundamental rights to access the same opportunities as their peers.<\/p>\n

Here are some excerpts of their reflections.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sports is my escape\u2019<\/p>\n

Lina Haaga, a 14-year-old Pasadena student, has played sports since age four, starting with soccer: \u201cMy entire family is very athletic,\u201d she says. \u201cI wasn\u2019t particularly good at soccer, but it helped me realize what an asset sports is in my life \u2013 as a release and an escape, but also a way to connect with other people and make new friends.\u201d A trans girl who transitioned at a young age, Lina always played on girls\u2019 teams, eventually doing basketball, swimming, water polo, lacrosse, tennis and track.<\/p>\n

Lina Haaga. Photograph: Courtesy Haaga family<\/p>\n

When she has faced stressors, \u201csports was always a place where I could find a reprieve and just think about the ball that was ahead of me or the next step in the race,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The attacks on trans girls in athletics have taken a toll, says Lina: \u201cThe political climate has put into question my relationship with sports. Instead of it being something innocent I can just enjoy without fear of being discriminated against, I\u2019ve had to now worry every time I step on the track or the court that somebody might disagree with my participation. That\u2019s been really scary, because it\u2019s started to steal something that\u2019s precious for me \u2013 that moment of bliss.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are times, she says, when she has avoided games out of fear someone might object.<\/p>\n

Her message to the supreme court? \u201cWe\u2019re still human. We\u2019re just kids. We\u2019re just trying to have fun \u2026 We\u2019re not trying to be monsters or predators or anything malevolent. We\u2019re just trying to find connection and community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lina hopes other trans kids continue to pursue athletics: \u201cPlaying sports and loving being out there on the field is in its own beautiful way an act of resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I defied the president\u2019<\/p>\n

In May, AB Hernandez, a 17-year-old track and field athlete, won first place in the high jump, first place in the triple jump, and silver in the long jump in the California state finals. It should have been a moment of pure celebration for the high schooler from Jurupa Valley, a city east of Los Angeles, but she and her mom had to worry about something else: Donald Trump\u2019s attacks.<\/p>\n

The US president turned AB into a media spectacle<\/a>, targeting her in a social media post and claiming he was \u201cordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow\u201d her to compete, writing her participation was \u201cTOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN\u201d.<\/p>\n

Now a senior<\/a>, AB says she has learned to brush aside her detractors: \u201cPeople are always gonna have negative thoughts to say about you \u2026 I just had to realize I need to be comfortable with who I know I am and be comfortable in my own skin and not let anyone get under it.\u201d<\/p>\n

AB Hernandez stands on the field during the high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, California, on 31 May 2025. Photograph: Jae C Hong\/AP<\/p>\n

\u201cVictory,\u201d she adds, \u201cmeant a lot, especially after all the internet drama. To come out on top and be number one. You can\u2019t say anything besides argue with a wall. I\u2019m still competing \u2026 Sports is my everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was touched that standing up inspired others: \u201cPeople DM\u2019d me to say: \u2018I\u2019m so happy you\u2019re fighting. You\u2019re making a really big impact for our community.\u2019 \u2026 I thought I just went out and competed, but to others, it was like a movement. I defied the president, in a way. I was like, oh my god, I did do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mom, Nereyda Hernandez, says she won\u2019t stop defending<\/a> her daughter\u2019s rights<\/a> and hopes other parents will be moved to embrace their trans kids. \u201cMy message to other parents is: support your kids and be louder. We\u2019re unaware of how much support we have within this community until you\u2019re actually put in a position like we were. We\u2019re not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019d have to leave the country\u2019<\/p>\n

While anti-trans rhetoric has generally focused on restricting trans girls, the toxic climate has also been distressing for trans boys, some parents said. Several states with bans against trans girls have included restrictions impacting trans boys, too.<\/p>\n

One 13-year-old trans boy in the Bay Area, whose name the Guardian is withholding to protect his identity, started playing soccer at age two and now also plays basketball and baseball. \u201cSports is how I made friends. It\u2019s nice you have people to lean on who have your back,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Jennifer, his mother, says her son struggled to fit in on girls\u2019 teams before he came out as a boy at age nine, but now is embraced by the boys\u2019 teams and coaches. If he were barred from athletics due to being trans, \u201cwe would have to leave the country,\u201d she says. \u201cThe message the country is sending deeply and negatively impacts his feeling of belonging in his own country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennifer, who asked to go by a pseudonym to protect her son\u2019s identity, says the supreme court case \u201cterrifies\u201d her: \u201cThe sports issue is so important, because it fundamentally tells us whether people believe trans people exist. Trans girls are girls and belong on girls\u2019 teams. Trans boys are boys and they belong on boys\u2019 teams. Full stop. Once you take the position that trans girls are not girls for the purposes of sports, you have now dehumanized them. It\u2019s a slippery slope to taking away rights after rights after rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her son says he didn\u2019t understand why some people were so focused on stopping children from playing on teams: \u201cI\u2019m just a kid that wants to play sports with my friends. I\u2019m not special. I just want to be left alone and hopefully be successful in sports. We\u2019re not a threat. We\u2019re not gonna tear down the world \u2026 If the Trump administration wouldn\u2019t let me play sports, they would basically be taking away part of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2018I\u2019m used to slurs, but I\u2019ll keep speaking up\u2019<\/p>\n

Lily Norcross, a 17-year-old track athlete from California\u2019s central coast, says she has grown accustomed to negative news articles about her participation on the girls\u2019 team, which sometimes lead to death threats and other harassment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know this sounds really sad, but I\u2019ve grown used to people calling me slurs. The news itself doesn\u2019t bother me as much as what it causes. After Trump was inaugurated, people were far more comfortable openly being transphobic and hating minorities,\u201d she says. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s important to defend the rights of trans kids \u2026 because compared to others, I\u2019m extremely lucky. Practically my entire family is supportive. I live in California, which is very liberal. My school board and most of my teachers support me. Most people aren\u2019t in that situation \u2026 I\u2019m speaking up for people in places like Texas, Ohio or Florida who don\u2019t have these opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lily says she also wished Democratic leaders did more to stand up for her rights, noting it felt like their stance was: \u201cLet trans people fight for themselves.\u201d She urges lawmakers to have more empathy: \u201cPut yourself in [our] shoes. Imagine if somebody said your people aren\u2019t allowed to use bathrooms or play sports. How would you feel if you were segregated from everybody else?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I feel hopeless\u2019<\/p>\n

Leonard, a 17-year-old swimmer in the Bay Area, says it was hard to be optimistic that his rights would remain protected, even in a state like California.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel hopeless. I don\u2019t like this supreme court and I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to support trans people\u2019s ability to play sports,\u201d says Leonard, a trans boy who is also a fencer and asked to go by a pseudonym to protect his identity. \u201cI\u2019m scared of the precedent it\u2019s going to set, maybe countrywide. I\u2019m scared of what could happen to me and my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard wishes people understood how meaningful it can be for trans youth to play on teams where they belong: \u201cIt made me really, really, really, really happy to be on the boys team affirming my gender identity, affirming I was as good as any cis boy. I know that I\u2019m a boy, but being on a boys team proves to everyone and myself that I am, in fact, a boy and this is where I\u2019m supposed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n