Transgender athlete CeCé Telfer says abusive rhetoric has become ‘more in my face’ since Trump’s inauguration

As a transgender athlete, CeCé Telfer is used to fighting for acceptance, both on the sports field and in her day-to-day life. That battle, she says, has become even more challenging in the weeks since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As a transgender athlete, CeCé Telfer is used to fighting for acceptance, both on the sports field and in her day-to-day life. That battle, she says, has become even more challenging in the weeks since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. “I’m Black, I’m a woman, I’m transgender, and I’m an athlete,” Telfer tells CNN Sport. “Each of my identities is a target, especially in America.” Six years ago, Telfer became the first out, transgender athlete to win an NCAA title when she took victory in the Division II 400-meter hurdles event. That moment seems like a lifetime ago, with her hopes of pursuing a career in track and field suffering setback after setback since then. Unable to compete in female world rankings competitions due to the current rules from the sport’s governing body, Telfer’s dreams of becoming an Olympian are currently on hold. Now, Trump’s executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports has further reinforced her sense of ostracization. “I feel like a lot of the anti-trans rhetoric has become louder, more in my face,” Telfer said when asked how her life has changed in recent weeks. “Prior to this set-in-stone administration, I woke up every day and I faced adversaries when I (left) my house. Now, I wake up every day and I have to make sure that I make it home alive.” Trump’s executive order, entitled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” is part of his administration’s wider attempts to limit transgender rights. In the first week of his second term, Trump also signed an executive order preventing transgender people from serving in the military. The order is facing a legal fight brought on by six transgender service members and two transgender people who want to enlist.