West Virginia and Idaho Are Requesting a Review of Supreme Court Decisions Permitting Transgender Athletes to Participate
The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked by West Virginia and Idaho to reconsider decisions that prevented the implementation of state legislation that forbade transgender athletes from participating in sports.
At a press event on Thursday at the state Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey stated, “If the Supreme Court takes this up, it will determine the fate of women’s sports throughout the entire country for many years to come.”
The transgender athletes wanted to play on K–12 and collegiate female-designated teams, but it’s unclear when the high court will decide whether to take up the cases. They were filed separately on Thursday.
A 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in the West Virginia case decided 2-1 in April that Becky Pepper-Jackson’s rights under Title IX, the federal civil rights legislation that forbids sex-based discrimination in schools, were violated by the state’s prohibition on transgender athletes. Since the third grade, 14-year-old Jackson has openly identified as a girl and taken medicine that prevents puberty.
In 2021, the Republican governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice, signed the legislation into law.
In 2020, Idaho became the first state in the US to outlaw transgender girls and women from participating on women’s sports teams supported by public colleges, universities, and schools. The women’s rights organization Legal Voice and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Idaho on behalf of Lindsay Hecox, who intended to run for Boise State University.
Another plaintiff in the case is a nontransgender high school athlete from the Boise region who worries that if someone challenges her gender, the law may require her to submit to intrusive testing to establish her biological sex.
A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals maintained an injunction against the statute in August 2023 while the lawsuit is pending.
Activists fighting the bill, according to Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, are “pushing a radical social agenda that sidelines women and girls in their own sports,” he said on Thursday.
In a statement, Labrador said, “Idaho is committed to ensuring that women and girls get a fair shot on and off the field.”
Morrisey stated that in submitting the state petitions, his office had been actively collaborating with Labrador.
“We believe that the combination of these cases offers the U.S. Supreme Court an excellent avenue for action,” he stated.
One of the key fronts in the current legislative and legal disputes over transgender people’s place in American public life is sports participation. The majority of states controlled by Republicans have imposed limitations on involvement and prohibited children from receiving gender-affirming medical therapy. Some have also limited the toilets and locker rooms that transgender persons, especially in schools, are allowed to use.
There are at least 24 states that have laws prohibiting transgender women and girls from participating in specific women’s or girls’ sports. West Virginia and Idaho are two of those states.
Morrisey declared, “This is a case about fair play.” “It’s just common sense, and the Supreme Court needs to step in and make the appropriate decision.”
In response, a joint statement was made by the ACLU, the ACLU of West Virginia, Lambda Legal, and Cooley Law Firm.
Pepper-Jackson’s legal team stated, “Our client deserves the opportunity to participate in sports teams without discrimination, as the Fourth Circuit made abundantly clear.” “We will continue to defend every student’s right to play as themselves and will make our position known to the Court.”