In a landmark ruling, the US Supreme Court has cleared the way for American states to impose restrictions on transgender student athletes, upholding laws in West Virginia and Idaho banning them from female sports teams.
“The question before the Court is: May schools maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females?” wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh for the majority opinion.
“In other words, may schools determine eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex?”
“The answer is Yes.”
“Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex [which] cannot plausibly be interpreted to refer to anything other than biological sex.”
“STATES MAY MAKE DISTINCTIONS BASED ON THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN”
The six conservative justices concluded that the state bans in Idaho and West Virginia don’t violate the Constitution.
The court unanimously agreed that barring transgender girls and women also doesn’t run afoul of the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education.
“Sports are different from, say, a typical employment or educational opportunity where equal protection often may require that the government generally treat an individual without regard to the individual’s sex,” wrote Justice Kavanaugh.
“In the sports context, by contrast, everyone agrees that the states may maintain separate women’s and men’s teams — in other words, that the states may make distinctions based on sex — because of the inherent physical differences between women and men.”
He added that would address safety and competitive fairness concerns.
HUGE VICTORY FOR YOUNG WOMEN WHO INTERVENED IN THE CASES
The ruling represented a huge victory for young athletes like Madison Kenyon and Mary Kate Marshall, who intervened in Idaho’s case after competing on the women’s cross-country and track teams at Idaho State University.
They witnessed a transgender athlete win the women’s mile at the Big Sky Conference Championships, knocking one of their teammates out of a podium spot.
They also lost on multiple occasions to this athlete who had posted times on the men’s team in previous years that were faster than the women’s national records.
Feeling “frustrated and defeated,” Madison and Mary Kate intervened in the case to defend Idaho’s 2020 Fairness in Women’s Sports Act to ensure that only females competed in women’s and girls’ sports.
It was the first law of its kind in the country.
“APPALLED AND HEARTBROKEN” YOUNG ATHLETE JOINS CASE
Lainey Armistead was “appalled and heartbroken” for female track athletes in Connecticut who were being displaced in their sports by biological males.
“It felt so unfair,” she despaired, recognising she could also be disadvantaged by having to compete against biological males.
With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Lainey intervened in the case brought by the state of West Virginia to enforce its 2021 Save Women’s Sports Act to ban transgender student athletes from female sports — which has been blocked by court orders for five years.
The ban was challenged by an athlete referred to as B.P.J. who has defeated more than 470 girls over 1,400 times combined.
CHRISTIAN LEADER CELEBRATES THE DECISION
President of the Christian Family Research Council Tony Perkins celebrated the decision as: “A victory for biology and women’s sports!”
“The Supreme Court could not dodge the cultural chaos ball it created with the redefinition of marriage.”
“Like the American people, who are connecting the dots and changing their minds on the reordering of society with the redefining of marriage, maybe the Court will eventually find its way back.”
“This is a good first step.”
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “THAT TAKES A RIDICULOUS SITUATION OFF THE TABLE”
President Trump posted after the ruling: “BIG WIN: The United States Supreme Court just RULED AGAINST MEN PLAYING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.”
“Wow! That takes that ridiculous situation off the table!!!”
“This is a monumental victory for every female athlete who has ever competed, or dreamed of competing, on a fair and safe playing field,” said West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey.
Kristen Waggoner, president of the ADF conservative Christian legal group, which helped the states defend their laws, observed: “This is a victory for every girl who refused to stay quiet in the face of injustice.”
“Men cannot be women, and no drug erases the male athletic advantage.”
25 MORE U.S. STATES COULD NOW BAN MALES FROM FEMALE STUDENT SPORTS
The Idaho and West Virginia laws designate sports teams at public schools including universities according to “biological sex” and bar “students of the male sex” from female teams.
Twenty-five other US states have similar laws on the books and can now proceed to enact them.
Trans-identified male athletes have been awarded more than 1,900 gold medals while competing in various girls’ and women’s athletic competitions since 1980.
That’s according to a report shared with The Christian Post by the Christian conservative advocacy group Concerned Women for America.
‘WASHINGTON POST’ EDITORIAL SUPPORTS STATE BANS
In advance of the Supreme Court’s oral arguments, the editorial board of The Washington Post expressed its support for the state laws, saying that “the laws being challenged are reasonable concessions to immutable reality.”
“Is there evidence that males are better athletes than females? Yes, scads.”
“Do those advantages persist after hormone treatments? Scientists have looked into the matter, and yes,” stated the editors.
“Separate sports divisions exist to mitigate those biological gaps.”
“It’s impossible to construct a coherent case for unfettered trans inclusion that fits those facts, without ultimately arguing for abolishing women’s athletics entirely.”
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