The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws in Idaho and West Virginia that ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports, delivering a major victory to conservatives and to President Donald Trump’s broader effort to restrict transgender participation in athletics.
The court’s majority ruled that the state bans do not violate the Constitution or federal Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, the Associated Press reported. The decision is expected to strengthen efforts by Republican-led states and the Trump administration to limit transgender athletes’ access to girls’ and women’s teams, locker rooms and school programs.
Trump has made the issue a central part of his campaign and governing agenda, arguing that allowing transgender women to compete in female sports undermines fairness, safety and opportunities for biological females. His administration has pushed federal agencies to interpret sex-based protections more narrowly and has backed state-level restrictions.
The ruling involved two separate cases. Lindsay Hercox, who was born male but identifies as female, challenged Idaho’s ban in an effort to try out for women’s track and cross-country teams at Boise State University. He did not make either team.
In the other case, Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 16-year-old high school sophomore in Bridgeport, West Virginia, was born male but identifies as female. He takes puberty-blocking medication, and the state issued a birth certificate recognizing his sex as female. Pepper-Jackson sought to compete in girls sports.
