SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The Supreme Court upheld laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibit transgender athletes from competing on girls' sports teams, ruling that states can ban transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams.
For many transgender people, the decision carries weight far beyond athletics.
Sam Moehlig, a transgender man, says growing up and playing sports was always a difficult topic.
"I started my transition at age 11, and at that time, my main sport was basketball. There was a lot of anxiety for me about trying out for the local team, and if anyone was wondering why my voice was still so high," Moehlig said.
Sam says the Supreme Court decision feels like another moment where people like him are targeted and asked to prove who they are.
His mother, Kathie Moehlig, founder of TransFamily Support Services, says the ruling hits close to home.
"This is news that just gives more power to the anti-trans population that has been attacking the trans community for years," Kathie Moehlig said.
Those in support of the laws say they are meant to protect fairness in women's sports, including President Donald Trump, who said on social media, "From now on, women's sports will only be for women."
Kathie Moehlig said she watched her son grow through sports.
"I watched Sam grow and excel through sports and become the person that he is today because he learned things about fairness, and so the idea of taking that right away from a small population just doesn't make sense," she said.
In California, laws protect the rights of transgender athletes to compete on sports teams that align with their gender identity, but some advocates still worry about the future.
"I have great concerns that the anti-trans movement will be taking this decision, whether that be certain school districts or judges in other counties, judges in other states who take this as precedent and really push back against those states that do allow kids to play," Moehlig said.
Sam says he is grateful not to have had this spotlight on him as an athlete, but says it is unfair for everyone else, whose rights he says are being taken away.
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