Female Athlete Recounts Losing State Championship to Transgender Player

A college softball player has publicly shared her experience of losing a high school state championship semifinal game to a team with a transgender pitcher, an event that has spurred her into advocacy for female athletes.

Kendall Kotzmacher, now a sophomore at Colorado Christian University, recounted the incident in a personal essay and a press conference on Capitol Hill. She described the emotional impact of her team's loss in the Minnesota state tournament during her senior year, feeling helpless and confused that adults responsible for protecting girls' sports had allowed the situation to occur. Kotzmacher stated that the opposing team, which had a transgender pitcher, went on to win the girls' high school state championship.

Kotzmacher explained that the pitcher's parents had changed his legal documents to reflect the opposite sex when he was young. She expressed shock that administrators, policymakers, and legislators had permitted this, leaving girls feeling