Supreme Court upholds state bans on transgender athletes in women's sports
The Supreme Court upheld West Virginia and Idaho laws barring transgender girls and women from competing on female school and college sports teams, ruling 6-3 along ideological lines . Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion, holding that states may set eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex.
The decision resolves two cases: a challenge by Lindsey Hecox, a transgender college student blocked by Idaho’s law from trying out for the Boise State women’s track team, and one brought by a West Virginia middle-school student. Both argued the bans violated their constitutional right to equal protection. Kavanaugh noted the court was not deciding the converse question of whether schools may choose to allow transgender athletes to compete.
The ruling leaves intact comparable laws in more than two dozen other states, settling for now a question that had divided lower courts. It does not require states to adopt such bans, but it removes the main constitutional argument against them.