Trans teen speaks out against trans athlete bans, says football has been ‘lifesaving’

“Without football, I don't quite know if I would still be here,” he said. "It's just allowed me to be a boy and it's allowed me to be a kid."

When 13-year-old Kris Wilka was younger, he would watch football games at his cousin’s house. This tradition, he says, sent him spiraling into playing the sport himself. “It was very fascinating to me. Like, all the different things that would go into making a play and executing a play,” he told “Nightline.” “It kind of spiraled from there... When I was in second grade, I went straight to tackle football -- I never played any flag [football] -- and I was quarterback for two years in my league, and then I was on the line my third year. I got recruited to a new league, played a year there.” Now Kris plays quarterback at Harrisburg North middle school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Like so many of his teammates, he can’t imagine life without the sport and his team. However, he may soon be forced out of playing football. Unlike his teammates, he was assigned female at birth. Watch the full story on "Nightline" TONIGHT at 12:35 a.m. ET on ABC