Female Athletes Discuss Competing Against Transgender Athletes

During a public hearing, NCAA softball player Kendall Kotzmacher and high school volleyball player Briley Lechner shared their experiences competing against transgender athletes. They expressed concerns over competitive fairness, locker room privacy, and the broader impact of current policies on girls’ and women’s sports.

Kendall Kotzmacher opened up about her team’s loss in the Minnesota state tournament semifinals. She explained her emotional reaction, not simply due to the defeat but because a team that included a male athlete went on to win the girls’ championship. She spoke about feeling devastated and confused, questioning how adults entrusted with protecting female athletes allowed such circumstances.

Kotzmacher later discovered the opposing team’s male athlete had his legal documents changed to reflect the opposite sex at a young age. She felt stunned that administrators and policymakers permitted this, leaving girls like her feeling neglected.

The impact wasn’t limited to Kotzmacher’s team. When a male athlete progresses through a girls’ state tournament, it affects every girl who competes against them. This influence expands across an entire tournament, impacting roster spots, championships, and even future opportunities for female athletes. Kotzmacher highlighted that at elite levels, one tournament could alter a player’s future.

Following the loss, Kotzmacher decided to speak out. Her journey eventually led her to testify at a press conference in Washington, D.C. She described the challenges she faced when voicing her experience, including feeling isolated while attending Western Michigan University. There, she was advised against mentioning her university in media discussions.

Kotzmacher maintained her belief that girls should not forfeit roster spots or championships to boys due to adults prioritizing boys’ feelings. She encountered further challenges in her courses, receiving a poor grade for her attempt to explore the difference between sex and gender in a sociology paper.

These challenges motivated Kotzmacher to transfer to Colorado Christian University, where she currently plays softball. Feeling supported and encouraged to share her story, she aims to empower future generations of female athletes to speak up.

Reflecting on her past experiences, Kotzmacher hopes her younger sister, cousins, and other girls will learn that they can protect each other’s interests, especially when adults do not. Though she cannot change the past events on the field, she remains determined to ensure girls do not have to accept being sidelined.