Last Updated Nov 18th, 2019 at 4:08 pm

A high school student spoke at a protest in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday as the court heard arguments about whether federal anti-discrimination laws should also apply to orientation and gender identity.

Grace, a high school junior and avid soccer and softball player, said that she has seen firsthand how gender identity can intersect with sports when a transgender athlete played against her team.

“You make it to the field and you see a high school boy across from you. Not as a coach, not as an assistant, but as a player,” she said. “It’s confusing. Your entire team’s focus and motivation is lost and defeated before you even start.”

Grace added that her team lost against a team with a biological male because of the boy’s hitting ability, saying that her team’s spirit of “Yes, we can!” was replaced by “Why try?”

She said that letting biological men play against women fails to provide an equal playing field. Grace added that women may lose out on sports scholarships to colleges if they have compete against men presenting as women.

A recent study in Sweden that men transitioning to present as women still retain advantages over women, even after a full year of hormone therapy.