The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared likely to uphold state bans preventing biological boys and men from playing on school athletic teams for girls and women.
Over two dozen Republican-led states have passed laws barring transgender athletes, while lower courts had previously ruled in favor of the athletes challenging bans in Idaho and West Virginia.
The big picture: Justices indicated they do not believe these bans violate the Constitution or Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education.
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed concerns about undermining Title IX’s achievements in women’s sports, noting potential harms to girls and women if forced to compete with transgender athletes.
- The court’s three liberal justices explored the possibility of a narrow ruling that would benefit the individual transgender athletes involved in these specific cases.
- A ruling for the states could set a precedent for other states with similar bans or those with laws allowing transgender athletes to compete based on gender identity.
Go deeper: The two central cases involve Lindsay Hecox, who challenged Idaho’s law but was not selected for university teams, and 15-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson, who has been publicly identified as a girl and has competed successfully in West Virginia.
- The court previously ruled in 2020 that LGBTQ people are protected from sex discrimination in the workplace but declined to extend similar reasoning to gender-affirming care bans for minors.
What we’re watching: The Supreme Court’s decision is expected by early summer and could influence similar laws and debates nationwide.
