TYLER, Texas — Laws are changing in less than a month for the LGBTQ+ community in Texas. This week, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 15, which will restrict college sports for transgender athletes.
Student athletes will be required to compete on teams that match their biological sex. For transgender athlete Brooklyn Ross, hearing about this legislation after previously playing on UT Tyler's tennis team impacted her mental health. She said this will also impact others who want to follow in her footsteps.
Ross recently graduated after the last spring semester. The college campus became a new home for the Colorado native, who said it was a very inclusive environment.
"I told them my personal journey and they were just so kind and supportive," Ross said. "I was like, yeah, this is definitely the place. They are really wonderful and supportive."
She found her love for the sport at age 9, and then found the love for herself during her college years. Ross said finding her identity was a difficult process that included therapy, academic struggles, but ultimately she found acceptance.
"After about a year, I really started to feel very comfortable with myself and all of my personal relationships were really beginning to accept me," Ross said.
Ross said she felt the inclusivity from her teammates, coaches and her professors on campus.
But starting Sept. 1 due to SB 15, collegiate athletes must compete on a team based on the gender stated on their birth certificate. One exception is when a female student can be allowed to play in a sport designated for males if there is not a corresponding female sport contest available.
The legislation was passed by state lawmakers and recently signed by Abbott. The law was named Save Women's Sports Act.
"Women's college athletic teams are threatened," Abbott said. "College records that women set are threatened. Women's sports, women's records, women's teams, women's locker rooms, all are jeopardized when biological men are allowed to compete for those titles."
Ross said hearing about this bill gaining support impacted her motivation to continue to play and compete during her time in Tyler.
"You feel like it's kind of a lose-lose proposition because if you lose the match then you lose the match," Ross said. "But if you win the match then people are gonna say you're not winning it on equitable or legitimate terms."
CBS19 reached out to the university for comment on this subject. They said in a statement, "UT Tyler athletics adhered to NCAA policies while Brooklyn Ross participated as a student-athlete at the university. As a state university, we follow all state laws in addition to NCAA policies.”
The NCAA's policy determines how trans athletes will be eligible to compete. Ross said transgender women need to be on hormones for one year. Their levels have to be tested through blood samples to make sure they are within female range.
It didn't stop her from earning a state award like the other 130 student athletes at UT Tyler. They led the state with the most Division II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Awards. Ross said she believes they were recognized for their determination and sportsmanship.
"That was kind of more my mindset with just going out and competing," Ross said. "Challenging each other to be better by pushing each other. I was really honored to receive that because it's voted on by the coaches in the conference. That was probably my favorite achievement that I had while at UT Tyler."
Ross recently moved back to Colorado, where she continues her love for the sport though coaching. She hopes her experience as a college athlete can showcase that there is a place for transgender people in sports. Since graduating cum lade from the university, Ross has been looking back at her experience and the support she's received from multiple people in East Texas.