NCAA softball player Kendall Kotzmacher says she reported a threat to come to her college and kill her amid backlash over her advocacy against transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports, while online targeting has also spread to her teammates.
The 20-year-old Colorado Christian University sophomore, recently named a Courage Wins Champion by XX-XY Athletics, told OutKick that the hostility has intensified as her public profile has grown.
“I had a person say that they were gonna come to the school and kill me. That one was a little scary,” Kotzmacher said.
Kotzmacher said she reported the threat to her school and had documented other concerning messages over the summer. Asked whether anyone had been arrested, she said no.
“I’ve been getting a lot of people telling me to go kill myself or that I don’t deserve to be alive or that I should die, a bunch of stuff like that, which has been really difficult to hear,” she said.
Knowing that strangers can identify where she attends college has added to her fear.
“I think people knowing where I go to school has been a little bit scary just because I never know if someone’s going to show up or what’s going to go on,” she said.
The backlash has also left Kotzmacher concerned about the teammates who publicly support her. She said one person replied to teammates’ comments on her social media posts, visited their accounts and looked up their names and statistics.
“I think I want to protect them as much as possible,” she said. “So trying to make sure that they’re not getting any of the backlash and that it’s kind of just on me has been a focus of mine.”
Kotzmacher said she offered in the team’s group chat to remove their names from her social media and make clear they were not involved in her advocacy.
Her teammates rejected the offer, she said.
“And they’re like, absolutely not. Like, we’re in this together. We’re going to be supportive of you,” Kotzmacher recalled. “Like, we’re all here for you, which has been so refreshing to hear because I didn’t really get that last year.”
Kotzmacher, a sophomore catcher and infielder who previously attended Western Michigan University, transferred this past summer after
In her September Fox News op-ed, she attributed her transfer from Western Michigan to a lack of coaching support and pressure in coursework.
Her advocacy began after White Bear Lake High School lost 3–2 to Champlin Park in the 2025 Minnesota Class AAAA state semifinals. Champlin Park, whose team included a transgender pitcher, subsequently won the championship.
Kotzmacher helped put White Bear Lake into that semifinal, hitting a seventh-inning, two-run home run in a 3–1 quarterfinal victory over Farmington.
More than a year later, she is balancing college softball and classes with an increasingly public role in the debate over sports eligibility.
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She practices four days a week and attends classes daily, she said, while trying to find time for advocacy that has taken her to Washington.
“When I went to DC, it was really hard to miss class and go do something so important and work for these females. And then come back on Monday and go to school like any other day,” Kotzmacher said.
She participated in a Sept. 23 Capitol Hill news conference following a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on fairness, opportunity and safety for female athletes. The hearing’s three listed witnesses were ICONS co-founder Kim Jones, former professional soccer player Carly Smolak and attorney William Bock III.
Democrats called no witnesses. Sens. Dick Durbin and Amy Klobuchar attended portions of the hearing before leaving. Durbin argued that lawmakers should address other problems facing children and female athletes and raised concerns about invasive examinations to enforce sports restrictions.
Kotzmacher criticized Democrats’ limited participation.
“Even if they don’t agree with it, just sit in and listen. Like, listen to these real stories from these real girls that this happened to,” she said.
The Minnesota native also said she plans to vote for Republican Senate nominee Michele Tafoya, who faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Tina Smith. Tafoya has made restrictions on transgender participation in female sports part of her campaign.
“I mean, I’ve talked to Michelle a lot. She’s been super supportive of everything. We’re pretty close,” Kotzmacher said.
Her advocacy has also included Sophie Cunningham rallies in Minneapolis, where she previously alleged a counterprotester told her she “should’ve been aborted.”
XX-XY Athletics announced Kotzmacher’s Courage Wins recognition in an Oct. 2 statement. The program honors female athletes who take consequential stands for fairness, opportunity or safety and provides financial support and access to leadership programming.
For Kotzmacher, the recognition acknowledges sacrifices that extend beyond the softball field.
“I’ve lost a lot of friends. A lot of people won’t speak to me anymore,” she said. “It’s just good to be noticed.”
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Despite the support she has found, Kotzmacher acknowledged that the hostility has tested her resolve.
“I think this summer I definitely reached my limit,” she said.
She said the prospect of younger girls facing similar experiences keeps her speaking publicly.
“I think the biggest thing is that I haven’t lost my voice yet,” Kotzmacher said. “It’s really easy to get scared back into the cave and to be scared into not speaking anymore.”
“I think in this day and age, using your voice and your platform is going to be the biggest thing for change.”
