Laws to ban transgender athletesat the scholastic levelhave swept across the US,with 25 states adopting them.
Trans athletes have been fighting back in the courtroom, and theyve been having some success.
But these legal battles may be too late for some.
Michael Pruett/Atsushi Tomura/Rudy Gonzalez/NCAA Photos/Getty Images
The repercussions are going to be felt for generations.
With so much focus on imagined, future situations, the experiences of real people are missed.
Here are three of their stories.
Natalie Ryan, Disc Golf
Natalie Ryan is a 30-year-old professional disc golfer from Virginia.
Disc golf, sometimes called frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport with rules similar to golf.
Ryan always played in the womens division and never had a problem, she says.
In 2022, Ryan won two Elite Series victories and finished the year in the top 10.
But there were people in the sport who didnt like it.
Allyoung athletes are hurt by this rhetoric.
I dont understand why some of themI thought they were my friendsended up signing that, Ryan says.
She had been in second place behind four people tied for first place.
Ive never been so upset and angry as I was that day, Ryan says.
(I didnt play well, but I played, she says.)
She finished tied for 14th place.
It had won its appeal in California based on a technicality and had lost quickly in Minnesota.
Turns out, suing people works, Ryan says.
Ryan rejoined the tour for the 2024 season but it hasnt been stress-free.
I dont see a reason to be openly hateful to anybody, Ryan says.
And those people that signed that declaration in California are never going to get that from me again.
That fear almost became a reality in April at a tournament in Nashville.
The threat of violence has taken its toll: It hit me hard, Ryan says.
Theres something about the sport that makes me feel like me.
Telfer made headlines in 2019 when she became the first openly transgender person to win an NCAA Championship.
But I knew that I deserved it.
Im a trans girl; a lot of people were against me, Telfer says.
She had to put her Olympic dreams on hold for another four years, which was devastating.
She hasnt been able to find a coach, and practice facilities are hard to come by.
Its really hard without resources, without having somebody to also dream your dream with you, she says.
The experience has been challenging and taken a physical and mental toll.
This new regimen makes me sick, she writes in her memoir,Make It Count.Makes me weak.
I get dizzy whenever I stand up.
I get vertigo during track practice.
I faint a few times.
Telfer continued training, hoping to find a loophole that would allow her to compete.
The IOC cannot overrule World Athletics; Telfer cannot compete in Paris.
I wake up every single day thinking, What is it gonna be now?
SELF has reached out to the UCI for comment on this and has not yet received a response.
Wolfe continues, I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my throat.
It was like my entire world had just ended with no warning.
Wolfe, a 31-year-old from San Diego, has been riding bikes pretty much her entire life.
But she began competing at the elite level in 2018 and qualified for her first World Cup in 2019.
The life of a professional BMX rider revolves around their sport.
When the UCI passed its new policy, Wolfe was in the full swing of her season.
And then I woke up the next morning to that.
When you are an elite athlete, your financial security is tied to your sport.
Riding is Wolfes primaryand for many years, onlysource of income.
Her health insurance is also tied to Team USA.
My entire life was built around being a professional athlete, she says.
This wasnt just my career.
Every fabric of my being was for this.
Wolfe has been trying to bring legal action against the UCI but has struggled to get a lawyer.
The logistics of sending emails and following up with people is exhausting and daunting.
It just sucks that the legal system is so heavily stacked against us.
I cant just go to a federal court; this has to be done internationally.
I can barely understand how the competitions work, let alone international human rights law.
Shed also have to requalify.
You cant just show up to a World Cup and slide in your first competition, she says.
You’ve got to earn your way to that level.
I spent the better part of a decade doing that in BMX.
It basically means nothing moving into this new series where I have to just start from the bottom again.
