I lost a state championship to a boy. I refuse to lose my voice

I have never been much of a crier.So when my softball team lost in the semifinals of the Minnesota state tournament, I surprised even myself.I sobbed to my parents and family.

I was devastated, confused, and hurt.But underneath it all was a sense of helplessness.I was a senior, and my biggest goal was to make the state tournament and play alongside my younger sister.

We made it.We battled through the tournament as underdogs.

And then our season ended because the opposing team was allowed to put a boy in as the pitcher on a girls' team.His team went on to win the girls' high school state championship.WE WERE FORCED TO COMPETE AGAINST A MALE.

THE SUPREME COURT HAD OUR BACKSI wasn't crying because we had simply lost a softball game.I was crying because I couldn't understand how the adults who were supposed to protect girls like me had allowed this to happen.I later learned that his parents had changed his legal documents to reflect the opposite sex when he was a young boy.

What shocked me even more was the realization that the adults around us—administrators, policymakers and legislators—had allowed it and left girls like me tossed aside, hurt and abandoned.WHAT'S NEXT IN THE BATTLE TO 'SAVE WOMEN'S SPORTS' AFTER SCOTUS RULING — AND THE HIDDEN DAMAGE DRIVING ITWe were expected to accept it, play through it and remain quiet.Kendall Kotzmacher during the White Bear High School 2024-25 season in Minnesota (Lisa Siddons )But the consequences didn't stop with my team.When a male athlete advances through a girls' state tournament, every girl who might have faced that team is affected.

Every roster spot, inning, championship, award and recruiting opportunity matters.At the elite level, one tournament can change a player's future.

The impact extends across girls' teams throughout an entire state.RILEY GAINES: SUPREME COURT HANDS WOMEN AN IMPORTANT WIN, BUT THE FIGHT ISN’T OVERAfter our loss, I decided I wasn't going to stay quiet.I never imagined that decision...