{"id":2839,"date":"2026-07-01T05:33:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T05:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2839"},"modified":"2026-07-01T05:33:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T05:33:13","slug":"tucson-transgender-athlete-speaks-out-after-supreme-court-upholds-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2839","title":{"rendered":"Tucson transgender athlete speaks out after Supreme Court upholds ban"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld restrictions<\/b><\/i> on transgender athletes in women\u2019s sports, a ruling that could eliminate the legal challenges blocking Arizona\u2019s Save Women\u2019s Sports Act from taking effect.<\/p>\n

Read more Arizona ramps up defenses against New World screwworm threat with UofA grant<\/a><\/p>\n

Arizona is one of 27 states that enacted laws banning transgender students from competing on athletic teams that match their gender identity.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s law was passed in 2022 but has not been enforceable for several years due to ongoing litigation.<\/p>\n

Arizona law could move forward<\/b><\/h3>\n

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne called the ruling a victory, saying it will clear the way for Arizona\u2019s law to be enforced. Two transgender teens had filed a lawsuit in Tucson challenging the act, arguing it violated their civil rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cArizona has had a law for a number of years prohibiting biological boys from being in girls\u2019 sports,\u201d Horne said. \u201cTwo large New York law firms sued to declare it unconstitutional.\u201d<\/p>\n

The case had been put on hold while the SCOTUS considered the legality of similar bans in West Virginia and Idaho.<\/p>\n

With Tuesday\u2019s ruling, Arizona\u2019s law moves forward.<\/p>\n

Horne said he plans to act quickly in response to the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy tomorrow, I\u2019ll file a motion to vacate those injunctions, and then the schools would not be able to, would have to obey Arizona law, and would not be able to permit biological boys to compete in girls\u2019 sports,\u201d Horne said.<\/p>\n

Plaintiffs say fight is not over<\/b><\/h3>\n

Rachel Berg, senior staff attorney at the National Center for LGBTQ Rights and lead counsel for the case, said she was disappointed by the outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur client wants the ability to play with her friends just like every other girl wants to play on teams with her friends, and no one should be excluded from a school activity based on who they are,\u201d Berg said.<\/p>\n

Read more Crash causes road closure in Pima County<\/a><\/p>\n

Berg said her remaining client still has a strong case and intends to fight the ruling under different factual grounds than those heard by the court on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Grey Picciano, the other plaintiff in the case, also said she was upset by the ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really hurts to like hear it, and like, I feel horrible for all of the trans girls in sports now,\u201d Picciano said.<\/p>\n

Picciano, who used to play volleyball at the Gregory School in Tucson, dismissed her case after graduating. She said people assumed she was stronger because of her physical appearance, but that medication had made her bones weaker than most women.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey think we\u2019re just trying to get that advantage, and we\u2019re just trying to be who we are, we just want to be ourselves and be true to ourselves,\u201d Picciano said.<\/p>\n

Picciano said she plans to continue advocating for transgender women in sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that we can be able to do what we want, get into sports, and just be ourselves for once, and like, not have to play against the guys,\u201d Picciano said.<\/p>\n

Both parties said they will continue to pursue their legal battles in court.<\/p>\n

Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n

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Read more Yee accuses opponent\u2019s allies of racist attack ad in Arizona superintendent race<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arizona’s 2022 Save Women’s Sports Act could move forward after years of legal challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTucson transgender athlete speaks out after Supreme Court upholds ban - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2839\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tucson transgender athlete speaks out after Supreme Court upholds ban - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Arizona's 2022 Save Women's Sports Act could move forward after years of legal challenges.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2839\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-01T05:33:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2839#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2839\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Tucson transgender athlete speaks out after Supreme Court upholds ban\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-01T05:33:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2839\"},\"wordCount\":620,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2839#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d1ab8eccdd4d0fe63f840cea9315c43b.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2839#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2839\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2839\",\"name\":\"Tucson transgender athlete speaks out after Supreme Court upholds ban - 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