The backpack of Beth Stelzer, founder of Save Women's Sports, who testified in favor of a bill banning transgender athletes from competing against women. Mjs Trans 14 Jpg Transa
Washington D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to weigh in on a pair of high-profile legal battles over state laws that bar transgender girls and women from participating on female sports teams at public schools. The decision sets the stage for a consequential ruling on transgender rights and the reach of state authority, adding a new chapter to a widening culture war that has sharply divided the country.
At issue are laws passed in West Virginia and Idaho that restrict school sports participation based on what they call “biological sex.” Both laws prohibit transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams, even if they’ve socially or medically transitioned. Supporters argue the measures are necessary to protect fairness in women’s athletics. Critics say the laws amount to unconstitutional discrimination and violate Title IX, the federal civil rights statute that bars sex-based discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funding.
The justices’ decision to hear the cases comes just two weeks after the Court upheld a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming medical care for minors. The 6-3 ruling, powered by the Court’s conservative majority, signaled a broader willingness to let states limit the rights of transgender people, even when those limits conflict with federal civil rights protections. The transgender sports cases now join a growing list of high-stakes disputes that test the boundaries of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause and the application of civil rights law to gender identity.
In West Virginia, the case centers on Becky Pepper-Jackson, a transgender high school student who began her legal fight in middle school. She sued the state after being denied the opportunity to join her school’s girls’ cross-country and track teams. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in her favor, concluding that the law treats transgender girls differently than other girls and therefore amounts to discrimination on the basis of sex.
Meanwhile, Idaho became the first state in the nation to enact such a ban in 2020. The challenge there was brought by Lindsay Hecox, a transgender woman and former Boise State student who sought to compete on the women’s track team. A federal judge blocked Idaho’s law, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision in 2023, affirming that the statute likely violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees.
Although both cases have different procedural histories, they present the same core question: Can states exclude transgender girls and women from women’s sports under the banner of preserving fairness?
Supporters of the laws, including Republican attorneys general and former President Donald Trump, say yes—and argue that allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports undermines the integrity of competition. Detractors say such laws serve only to marginalize a vulnerable population already facing systemic discrimination.
The Court’s ruling, expected next year, could set a national precedent that determines not only who gets to play, but who belongs in America’s public institutions.
