A parent in Pennsylvania is claiming it would be ‘cruel’ to make their transgender  daughter play on male sports team following President Donald Trump’s order banning biological males from competing on girl’s sports teams. 

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association had changed its policy last month to comply with Trump’s executive order entitled Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.

But at a meeting on Wednesday, Sarah Hansen argued that having her daughter, Luce Allen, continue to compete on the girl’s team at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School is critical for her wellbeing, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

She told the association’s board members that her child, a senior who runs track and field, had grappled with her identity for years.

‘Since 15, we’ve been on a journey for her transition to the girl that she has always been’ including psychological evaluations, medical appointments and testing and hours of therapy, Hansen said.

‘My child is a female in her heart and soul, and according to her medical labs,’ she continued. ‘Having her play sports with males would be cruel.’

The concerned mother went on to say that her child was ‘not a male who wants to play against girls, not a predator who wants to find a way into the female locker room, and not a male who isn’t good enough to be a boy.

‘She is a girl,’ Hansen insisted. 

Sarah Hansen argued at a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association meeting on Wednesday that having her daughter, Luce Allen, continue to compete on the girl’s team at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School is critical for her wellbeing

She told the association’s board members that her child, a senior who runs track and field, had grappled with her identity for years

The mom also claimed that her daughter ‘does not win every race.

‘She works hard seven days a week,’ Hansen said. ‘Over the last three years, she has become substantially better, but athletes with this mindset all do the same.’ 

Hansen’s husband, Tom, then read a statement from Allen’s doctor who said ‘body characteristics of trans girls are differences, not absolute advantages,’ and that ‘gender exists dimensionally, not on a binary.’ 

Similarly, in a statement read by a lawyer with the Education Law Center, Allen, herself, described feeling acceptance from teammates and said the girl’s track team – which she has competed on for the past three years – ‘means everything to me.’

‘If you remove the ability of trans people to compete with a team that corresponds with their gender; then you’ll strip them of their opportunity to develop as people,’ the student argued in her statement.

She added that ‘trans athletes, like any other high school athlete, are just kids who want to compete.’ 

The family was joined by other transgender advocates, who hit out at the PIAA’s policy change.

The PIAA changed its policy on transgender athletes last month, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning biologically male athletes from competing on girl’s sports teams

The association had originally said that ‘where a student’s gender is questioned or uncertain, the decision of the Principal as to the student’s gender will be accepted by the PIAA.’

But the board last month replaced the term ‘gender’ with ‘sex.’

Assistant Executive Director Lyndsay Barna said at the time that PIAA believed Trump’s February 5 order – which declares that ‘ignoring fundamental biological truths between the two sexes deprives women and girls of meaningful access to educational facilities’ – was ‘binding to all PIAA member schools that accept federal funding.’

She argued that the board is simply ‘following the order.’

At Wednesday’s meeting in Mechanicsburg, however, Elizabeth Lester-Abdalla, a staff attorney for the Women’s Law Project, urged the board to better clarify its position.

She argued that the policy, as it stands, ‘is a disservice based on gender’ and argued that the association is ‘obligated not to discriminate based on gender identification,’ Penn Live reports. 

Kristina Moon, a senior attorney with the Education Law Center, even referred to research that, she said, found ‘no negative impact on the participation of girls and women in school sports in states that had implemented trans-inclusive state athletics policies.

‘There are, and have always been, wide variations in physical characteristics among young people who play sports,’ the lawyer argued, especially during ‘formative school age years’ when children develop at different rates.

One of Allen’s teammates claimed in a statement that she had ‘never felt like any of my meets or races have been unfair because of Luca’s participation’

She then went on to read a statement from one of Allen’s teammates who claimed that she had ‘never felt like any of my meets or races have been unfair because of Luca’s participation.’

The girls’ coach, Christopher Jackson Jr., similarly wrote in a letter to the board that Allen found a ‘refuge’ and a sense of belonging on the team, and is valued by teammates as ‘a courageous leader.’

‘Luce’s presence on the team fosters a spirit of unity, sportsmanship and inclusivity,’ Jackson wrote. ‘They are admired for their bravery, work ethic and unwavering commitment to the sport they love.’

PIAA Executive Director Dr. Richard A Lombardi said the presentations from the advocates and Allen’s parents were received well by the board and will now be taken into consideration.

In the meantime, the Colonial School District – in which Allen competes – and the PIAA are facing a federal lawsuit brought by a Quakertown student and her mother, Holly Magalengo, who argue that the girl’s constitutional rights were violated by being forced to compete against Allen in September.

Hansen has argued that her daughter does not win every race

The Colonial School District – in which Allen competes – is now facing a a federal lawsuit brought by a Quakertown student and her mother, Holly Magalengo, who argue that the girl’s constitutional rights were violated by being forced to compete against Allen in September

At a hearing earlier this month at the US District Court in Philadelphia – where a judge rejected the Quakertown student’s motion for a restraining order – lawyers for the Colonial School District said their policy was in line with state and federal law at the time, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

They cited Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission rules that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, as well as a 2018 federal court ruling that upheld another school district’s policy allowing trans students to use the bathroom aligned with their gender identities.

Colonial’s lawyer, Michele Mintz, also argued at the hearing that the September race did not affect the Quakertown student’s ability to compete in other races – and added that there was no evidence the Quakertown student lost any possible scholarship as a result of losing to Allen.

The district also noted that Allen placed 139th in the Fall District One championships. 

She has participated in both outdoor track and field and cross country in 2023 and 2024, and has also participated in the 2025 indoor track season.

As the lawsuit continues, Colonial spokesperson Jessica Lester said the district’s policy permitting participation by trans athletes ‘has not changed.’