Selina Soule, one of the four athletes in the middle of the lawsuit, suffered the consequences of the transgender ideology first-hand as a track athlete at Glastonbury High School in Connecticut. During the Connecticut Indoor Track & Field State Championships in 2019, Soule was one place away from qualifying for the New England Regional Championships in the 55-meter dash. However, the first and second-place spots were taken by biological men.

“I lost out on qualifying spots for the meets, better placement and possibly even scholarship opportunities,” she said. “It was a very frustrating and heartbreaking thing to have to go through.”

Since 2017, Connecticut’s Department of Education has protected transgenders from discrimination, arguing that Title IX protects them from any such scrutiny. But the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is representing the four girls on the case, said that Connecticut’s policy violates Title IX, and the case is being heard before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston heard arguments from both sides on Thursday.