The Supreme Court has upheld laws in West Virginia and Idaho that bar transgender female athletes from joining girls’ and women’s sports teams. This 6-to-3 decision impacts 25 other states with similar laws and affects school and collegiate athletes across the nation.
The ruling is significant amid national efforts, supported by the Trump administration, to restrict transgender rights in sports. Last year, President Trump instructed federal agencies to withdraw funding from schools allowing transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Public interest in these cases was high. Olympians and elite athletes submitted legal briefs supporting both sides. In March, the International Olympic Committee banned transgender athletes from the women’s category in the Olympics. Participants in those events now face genetic testing requirements. Additionally, the N.C.A.A. declared it would not allow trans women to compete in women’s sports.
Becky Pepper-Jackson, a high school student from West Virginia, and Lindsay Hecox, a college student from Idaho, challenged their states’ laws. These laws mandate that eligibility for sports teams be determined based on “biological sex,” identified as a person’s gender at birth.
The decision revealed a clear ideological split in the Supreme Court. The conservative majority ruled that states can define sports team eligibility based on biological sex.
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