Supreme Court to hear challenge to transgender athletes in girls sports

The Supreme Court announced Thursday it would hear two disputes over state laws banning transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, giving the justices a headlining issue for their next term that opens in the fall.

The court agreed to hear challenges involving West Virginia’s law that requires transgender students to compete on boys or co-ed teams, and Idaho’s law requiring students to compete in sports along with others of the same biological sex.

In each case, lower appeals courts have blocked the state laws, finding they violate the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause by discriminating based on sex distinctions.

J.B. McCuskey, West Virginia’s attorney general, said he’s looking forward to the justices weighing in.

“It is time to return girls’ sports to the girls and stop this misguided gender ideology once and for all,” Mr. McCuskey said.

The justices agreed to hear the cases just days after they ruled that Tennessee could limit transgender medical treatments without violating the Equal Protection Clause.

The high court in that case said transgender medical science is evolving quickly and states have freedom to experiment without running afoul of the Constitution.

Student athletics cases put the issue of gender identity and the Equal Protection Clause more fully before the court, with Idaho and West Virginia arguing attempts to carve out spaces exclusively for women can pass constitutional muster.

The West Virginia case is B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education.

B.P.J. is Becky Pepper-Jackson, a transgender girl. She competes in girls’ cross country and track-and-field races.

In 2024, Becky placed in the top three in every track event she took part in, the state said, bumping several girls off the medal stand. That included winning the shot put and coming in second in the discus.

Tara Borelli, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, which represents the family in the case, said Becky just wants to play sports with friends.

“Everyone understands the value of participating in team athletics, for fitness, leadership, socialization and myriad other benefits,” Ms. Borelli said.

The Idaho case is Lindsay Hecox v. Bradley Little. Mr. Little is Idaho’s governor, and Ms. Hecox is a transgender athlete who sought to try out for track and cross country teams at Boise State University.

“Trans kids play sports for the same reasons their peers do — to learn perseverance, dedication, teamwork and to simply have fun with their friends,” said Joshua Block, senior counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Ms. Hecox.

But Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador said girls deserve to be on an equal playing field.

“For too long, activists have worked to sideline women and girls in their own sports,” Mr. Labrador said. “Men and women are biologically different, and we hope the court will allow states to end this injustice and ensure men no longer create a dangerous, unfair environment for women to showcase their incredible talent and pursue the equal opportunities they deserve.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Ms. Hecox, and the 4th Circuit sided with Becky.

About two dozen states have legislation aiming to protect women’s sports.

More than a dozen other states, meanwhile, have policies in place that promote inclusion of transgender and nonbinary athletes, according to TransAthlete.com.

President Biden’s administration promoted those trans-friendly policies. President Trump, however, has gone the other direction, pressuring schools to ditch their rules that allowed transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.

This week the Department of Education said the University of Pennsylvania agreed to strip Lia Thomas, a prominent transgender swimmer, of her school records and to block future transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.

The National Collegiate Athletics Association also changed its policy in February, limiting participation in women’s sports only to students who were female at birth.