WASHINGTON − A student at the center of high-profileSupreme Court challengesto bans on transgender athletes on female sports teams wants the court to drop her case. Lindsay Hecox, a senior at Boise State University, told the court she's afraid she will be harassed and have trouble graduating if she continues the challenge. "From the beginning of this case, I have come under negative public scrutiny from certain quarters," Hecox said herSept. 2 request to the court. "I also have observed increased intolerance generally for people who are transgender and specifically for transgender women who participate in sports." More than half the stateshave passed lawspreventing transgender athletes from competing on female school sports teams, saying they are trying to prevent competitive advantages. The laws don't take into account someone's athletic ability or how far they are in transitioning to another gender. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on the issue, has moved tocut off federal fundingfrom schools that allow transgender athletes to compete against other athletes who match their gender identity. Lower courts sided with both Hecox and a West Virginia transgender teen who challenged her state's ban. Idaho and West Virginia appealed those decisions to theSupreme Court, whichagreed in Julyto hear both cases. More:Supreme Court to take up blockbuster case on transgender athletes joining girls' teams The court now has to decide whether to hear only the West Virginia dispute. Lawyers for Idaho told the court their case should continue. But Hecox, who had played for BSU's women's club soccer team, said there's no longer anything for the Supreme Court to consider because she's withdrawn her challenge to Idaho's ban and has made the "extremely difficult decision" to stop participating in women's sports. "While playing women's sports is important to Ms. Hecox, her top priority is graduating from college and living a healthy and safe life," her lawyers said in a filing. The court should throw out the ruling in her favor from the San Francisco-based 9thU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, they said. More:Supreme Court upholds state ban on transgender minors using puberty blockers, hormone therapy The appeals court had agreed with Hecox that Idaho's ban likely discriminates against transgender female athletes. The court also said Idaho hadn't shown how the ban would further the stated goal of greater opportunity for women athletes. TheWest Virginia caseraises the same legal issue: whether the ban violates the promise of the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause that everyone is treated fairly. The Supreme Court also agreed to consider whether West Virginia's ban runs afoul of federal rules against sex-based discrimination in public schools. The court, which comes back to the bench in October, has not set a date for oral arguments. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Transgender athlete asks Supreme Court to drop her case
