I played sports most of my life, but I was also doing acting and theatre growing up, so I struggled to find the time to do both. It was a dream of mine to play soccer at a high level, but I thought that I couldn't after I came out.

As someone who was born intersex, I went through a lot of intensive hormone regimens, from having to take medicines to getting tested every week. And this doesn’t only apply to intersex people. In sports, we have athletes who are born cisgender, but are still subjected to similar regimens for having higher testosterone. Especially back home in Africa, they're made to deal with all these testosterone level tests.

But I just think that everyone has a biological advantage somehow: Michael Phelps has bigger lungs, and LeBron James can move incredibly fast for his size and height.

We're not all the same, and there are many things that make certain athletes stand out. I think the quicker we can understand this, the faster we can help turn around this prejudice that's going on with the attacks on transgender athletes and people.

I think co-ed leagues are a way forward in navigating this prejudice because we see that no matter what someone’s gender identity or expression is, they are all having fun.

It hurts when the one thing you love is taken away from you

I would say in terms of coming out, Women's Soccer has always been a safe space for LGBTQI+ people. If you go to a women's soccer match, you're gonna have pride flags, no matter what. I'm so lucky to be playing a sport where I could just go into that. 

When it comes to gender expression, sports has allowed me to be a more androgynous version of myself, where I can take away that combat style stereotype of "I have to be this or I have to dress like this."

Having queer athletes and people like Megan Rapinoe helps me to be more in-between in my gender expression. The field also provides me with a space to take out my anger in a healthier way to deal with the anti-trans legislation and public outcry against trans athletes. 

The legislation that bans trans athletes is quite harmful to the community and to our mental health. It hurts when you have the one thing that you love to do, taken away from you, especially when you've been doing it for so long. 

If you watch me play, or if you watch any trans athletes play, especially on that local or school level, you notice that there are very, very few people who are playing to be the best. And as for professional athletes, they wouldn't be professional athletes without having a love for the sport first. We’re all just playing because it's fun, and that's essentially what sports are. 

Luckily, I play and live in a state where I don't have to usually hear that anti-trans rhetoric. But at the same time, I know that other people aren't that fortunate. I hope that the US Soccer Federation and FIFA could hopefully set a better example that could help overthrow that legislation.

Knowing myself when I was younger, would’ve saved me a lot of grief

I came out when I was 19, and I think knowing who I was when I was younger, would have saved me a lot of grief and feeling of loss in my life. If I could travel back in time, I would say, "Be patient. You get to be a trailblazer. You get to be a role model for other people. You have to sacrifice so that people who come after you can play the game they love."

If I was in a situation where I had access to soccer when I was younger, I think I would be playing college soccer right now. I'm hoping that in 50 years or 100 years, anyone who is similar to me doesn't have to deal with what I had to deal with to just play the sport they love.

In the future, I hope that sports will be less gendered, especially in the language used. 

Recently, the Chicago Marathon had a non-binary category, and I would love to see more non-binary or genderqueer categories that take the expansiveness of gender into consideration.

I would also hope that all my non-binary friends and that non-binary people in general, don't have to feel subjected to choose a gender or choose a bathroom.