In just the last few years, 27 states have passed laws and adopted policies that bar transgender kids and teens from participating safely in school sports. These bans specifically focus on trans girls and women but in many instances impact all trans youth. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear some of the most significant cases challenging these laws, advocates tell us the results could have severe consequences for LGBTQ+ rights across the country.
One of the most important cases so far is West Virginia v. BPJ. In this instance, 15-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson is challenging her state’s law, which prevents her from running in track events. Pepper-Jackson hopes that her case will go further than her individual experience and serve as an inspiration to a wider fight for transgender equality. She stated, “This case isn’t just about me, or even just about sports. It’s just one part of a plan to push transgender people like me out of public life entirely.”
The Landscape of Restrictions
For the last five years, anti-trans bills — particularly those focused on policing the participation of transgender athletes — have exploded in states across the US. On the surface, the laws seem to be intended to protect fairness and safety for cisgender girls in sports. Opponents, on the other hand, claim that these restrictions are bigoted and intend to push transgender people to the fringes of society.
California has a different process. It has permitted transgender youth to compete on teams consistent with their gender identity for decades, with very little opposition. This acceptance reflects an expanding chasm between states when it comes to safeguarding or restricting transgender athletes.
“These laws were passed to establish a legal principle that transgender girls and women shouldn’t be treated like other girls and women, and then to use that principle as a jumping-off point for rolling back protections for transgender people more generally.” – Joshua Block
Legal Challenges in the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in two significant cases involving transgender students challenging Republican-backed laws in West Virginia and Idaho. In Idaho, a law passed in 2020 specifically prohibits transgender women and girls from competing on women’s sports teams. Lindsay Hecox is a transgender college student hoping to compete in women’s track events. She meets challenges due to the law.
Recent developments are proving more favorable to Hecox’s situation. Currently, she is trying to get her case dismissed because she doesn’t want to pursue athletics anymore because the harassment has continued. The result of these legal battles might well decide whether or not transgender people, like so many other marginalized peoples, are protected under Title IX.
“BPJ is about a 15-year-old kid that the entire state of West Virginia has brought to the supreme court to continue to fight to exclude her from the track-and-field team.” – Karen Loewy
Proponents of these laws, some of which financially penalize schools for not complying, claim they maintain Title IX’s original intent by providing equal opportunities for women and girls. A spokesperson for West Virginia’s attorney general stated, “West Virginia’s law is not discriminatory – it treats all students equally and represents a common-sense approach to a complex issue.”
Broader Implications for LGBTQ+ Rights
The legal battles over transgender athletes issues go beyond the gates of sports. Nevertheless, advocates have worried that if rulings go the wrong way, they will give license to even more discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. They contend that many of these laws are rooted in broader anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments that seek to undermine rights gained over recent years.
Some proponents of these bans argue that allowing transgender women and girls into women’s sports compromises the integrity of those competitions. An ADF spokesperson emphasized, “Men and women are different, and those differences matter in sports. When you let males into women’s sports, it harms women … causing women to lose their dignity, privacy, and equal opportunities.”
LGBTQ+ rights advocates counter that there is no credible evidence supporting claims that inclusive policies endanger cisgender girls and women. It’s not about fairness. As a lie, they call out the campaign for restrictions on universities and colleges. Rather, it is focused on quelling the visibility and rights of transgender people.
“These bans endanger all girls by empowering adults, parents, politicians, coaches to investigate anyone who they suspect to be trans on the basis of how they look and subject them to invasive sex-testing procedures.” – Shayna Medley