US Supreme Court upholds state bans on transgender athletes in girls’ sports

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The US Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws barring transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s school sports, delivering a major victory to conservatives in one of the country’s most fiercely contested culture-war battles.

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In a 6-3 decision split along ideological lines, the court held that the US Constitution does not prevent states from enforcing laws restricting transgender athletes from participating in girls’ sports.

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The justices were, however, divided on a separate issue concerning whether the bans violate federal law.

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The ruling is expected to uphold similar laws already enacted in at least 27 states, including West Virginia and Idaho, where officials argue the measures are necessary to ensure fairness and safety in girls’ sports.

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Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said state legislatures and educational institutions were best placed to determine policies on the issue.

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“The legislatures and the schools are better equipped — and under the Constitution, are the more appropriate entities — to assess the competing medical and scientific considerations and draw appropriate lines,” Kavanaugh wrote.

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The decision allows Idaho, West Virginia and more than two dozen other Republican-led states to enforce measures requiring students to compete in public school and college teams according to their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity.

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The ruling is the latest sign of the conservative-dominated court’s willingness to side with states on the issue, following last year’s decision upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

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The cases before the court were brought by transgender students who argued that the bans violated the US Constitution’s equal protection guarantee and Title IX, the federal civil rights law barring sex discrimination in education.

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Supporters of the laws say they are needed to preserve fair competition and protect athletic opportunities for girls and women.

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Opponents say they single out a tiny number of vulnerable students for exclusion and discrimination, turning children’s participation in school sports into a national political battleground.

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The Idaho case arose from the state’s 2020 Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which was challenged by a transgender athlete at an Idaho university. Lower courts found the law unconstitutional.

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Idaho Solicitor General Alan Hurst told the justices during arguments in January that “sex is what matters in sports,” citing differences in size, strength, muscle mass and lung capacity.

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The West Virginia case involved a teenage transgender girl who was barred under a 2021 state law from running on her middle school girls’ track team.

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Her lawyers argued that transgender girls who receive testosterone-suppressing treatment do not retain an unfair athletic advantage and that the laws are broad bans driven more by politics than evidence.

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After returning to the office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”, directing federal agencies to support restrictions on transgender athletes in female sports.

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His administration has also challenged state policies permitting transgender participation in girls’ and women’s sports.

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The issue has also extended to international competition. Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee announced new eligibility rules barring transgender women from competing in women’s events ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

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AFP

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