Transgender youth athletes have vowed to keep playing sports and fighting for equal access to teams after the US supreme court ruled in favor of laws banning their participation.

The court’s conservative supermajority on Tuesday upheld laws in West Virginia and Idaho prohibiting trans girls from participating in women’s teams, finding the laws were constitutional.

The ruling advances one of the central causes of anti-LGBTQ+ advocates, who have been pushing to curtail the rights of trans people across society, including in education, employment, healthcare and the military.

The decision will support laws in 25 other states that also restrict trans youth participation in sports. But LGBTQ+ advocates say the immediate legal impact is narrow and does not create a national ban. More than 20 states have inclusive policies allowing trans students to play on teams that match their gender.

“We’re not backing down,” said Nereyda Hernandez, a California trans rights advocate. She is the mother of AB Hernandez, who became one of the most well-known trans youth athletes in the US when Donald Trump began directly targeting her last year on social media. “I’ve always said, you’re not going to intimidate me or bully my kid out of sports.”

“Sports have just meant the absolute world to me,” said AB, a 17-year-old track-and-field athlete from Jurupa Valley, a city east of Los Angeles. She recently graduated high school. “If I had been forced to join the boys’ team, it would just be so uncomfortable for all of us. They’re failing to see on my girls’ team, everyone is super happy and super nice and no one cares. We’re just high school girls trying to have fun and play a sport we all love.”

In 2020, Idaho became the first state to adopt a law categorically banning trans women and girls from women’s sports teams. In Little v Hecox, Lindsay Hecox, a trans college student blocked from track, challenged Idaho’s law. The second case, West Virginia v BPJ, stemmed from a lawsuit brought by Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 15-year-old trans girl and track athlete.

“Politicians in my state passed a law banning me – the only transgender student athlete in the state – from playing on the team that reflects who I really am,” Becky said in a recent speech. The case, she said, is “just one part of a plan to push transgender people like me out of the public life entirely”.

‘We need to stay strong’

States such as California have long permitted trans youth to play on teams that match their gender with little controversy until the last six years, when the subject became a national political debate.

Lina Haaga, a 15-year-old track athlete in Pasadena, California, has become a vocal proponent for the rights of trans girls like herself after she was subjected to attacks in rightwing media. She said she would not let the supreme court decision or backlash stop her from pursuing extracurriculars that have become vital to her.

“Sports have meant a lot in terms of finding community, finding friends, making connections,” said Lina, who transitioned at age four and has also played basketball, tennis, water polo and lacrosse. “The story of the inclusion of trans people in sports isn’t just limited to athletics. It’s a domino effect, and if we relent this battle, we risk giving up the rights of trans people in other areas … We need to stay strong and continue fighting.”

Lina said she would pursue athletics in the fall: “It’s really special to have a dedicated team outside of academics … It’s scary to think that could be taken away from me, but I love the joy of competing and sometimes winning and sometimes losing and crying over the losses or celebrating the victories.”

The hate and vitriol she faced, including after winning a race against her sister in the spring, has taken a toll, she said.

“There were times I considered quitting. It’s really daunting to have nameless, faceless adults on the internet commenting horrible things, not just about the fairness of my participation, but about my appearance, my identity, my character,” she said. “But at times when I was really struggling, I always reminded myself there’s a joy and beauty about sports and benefits every kid should be able to access.”

Her mother, Catalina Haaga, said it seemed the national political debate was ignoring the real-world impact on youth who are targeted, like her daughter. The team embraced Lina when she won. Even as anti-trans advocates argued the victory was unfair, she noted: “We’re prioritizing competition over inclusion, tolerance, belonging. We need to zoom out as a nation and ask, what is the greater value at stake? In our home, the answer is belonging is more important than a trophy.”

Ripple effects

Anti-trans groups argue the bans are necessary to protect women’s sports and fairness, while LGBTQ+ rights advocates argue there is no credible evidence that inclusive sports policies have endangered cis girls.

There are very few out trans youth athletes. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) president in 2024 said there were fewer than 10 trans athletes in college sports and lawmakers have struggled over the years to identify out K-12 trans youth sports players in their states. But advocates note there are more than 110,000 trans youth ages 13 to 17 living in states with sports bans, who are impacted by exclusionary policies.

Lily Norcross, a 17-year-old track athlete from California’s Central Coast, said she would continue pursuing sports in her final year of high school, though feared the ripple effects of the ruling. Anytime the Trump administration pursues anti-trans policies, “we see a noticeable uptick in hate crimes,” she said. “It’s a very real possibility that threats made to me become increasingly more violent to the point where I no longer feel safe to participate.”

Her father, Trevor Norcross, added: “It’s devastating as a parent to hear your child have to talk that way and deal with these issues. That’s the goal of the other side. This has never had anything to do with sports or fairness or bathrooms. The agenda is eradication of transgender people.”

Still, Lily added: “I will not back down from this fight. I know I’m in a horrible position, but there are so many people out there in Nebraska, Idaho, Texas or Florida who are in so much worse positions than me.”

Lily also questioned how bans will be enforced across the country: “Will there be video surveillance in locker rooms?”

Advocates note that bans can encourage invasive sex-testing procedures, which can lead to scrutiny and privacy violations of all girls, including cis girls accused of being trans based on their appearances and stereotypes.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, a civil rights group, said in a statement the ruling does not impact existing civil rights protections for trans youth in New York, but would “embolden more transphobic policies in an attempt to erase trans kids and their existence from daily life”. The state’s attorney general, Letitia James, said she would continue to fight against discriminatory policies.

Other elected Democrats – including the state attorney general in Washington state; the lieutenant governor of Virginia; congressmembers Ed Markey, of Massachusetts and Pramila Jayapal, of Washington; and Minnesota governor, Tim Walz – all criticized the ruling and reiterated their commitments to support trans youth and adults.

Abigail Jones, a trans athlete and recent high school graduate from Riverside, California, said after the ruling that she hoped people would keep standing up to anti-trans bigotry. “For trans people, sports can be extremely important and even life-saving for some. It does usually grant people subject to a lot of discrimination and hatred a team and community and friendships and bonding.”