US Supreme Court Upholds State Bans on Transgender Women in Female School Sports

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that states may prohibit transgender women from participating in female sports in public schools and colleges, handing a significant legal victory to states that have enacted such restrictions.

In a decision delivered on Friday, the nation’s highest court upheld laws enacted by Idaho and West Virginia requiring students to compete on sports teams based on the sex recorded at birth.

The ruling followed legal challenges brought by students who argued that the bans violated constitutional equal protection guarantees and federal civil rights protections under Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational institutions.

While all nine justices agreed that the state laws do not violate Title IX, the court was divided on whether the measures conflict with the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

The court’s six conservative justices concluded that the restrictions are constitutional, while the three liberal justices dissented.

Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, “The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women’s and girls’ sports throughout America.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a partial dissent, criticised the majority’s reasoning, saying the ruling applied “a diminished view of equal protection” to school athletics.

The Idaho case was brought by transgender long-distance runner Lindsay Hecox shortly after the state enacted its law in 2020.

Lower courts had initially blocked the legislation after finding that Idaho failed to demonstrate the restrictions were necessary to protect competitive opportunities for female athletes.

At the time the law was passed, Idaho lawmaker Barbara Ehardt, who sponsored the legislation, argued that it would ensure “boys and men will not be able to take the place of girls and women in sports because it’s not fair.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling comes as more than two dozen US states have adopted similar laws restricting transgender athletes from competing in female school and college sports.

The issue has also featured prominently in national politics. During his 2024 presidential campaign, President Donald Trump repeatedly pledged to bar transgender women from female sporting events.

Following his return to office, he signed an executive order aimed at restricting transgender women from competing on women’s sports teams.

Subsequently, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body for college sports in the United States, also barred transgender women from participating in women’s competitions.

Supporters of the restrictions argue that athletes who were born male retain physical advantages that could undermine fairness in women’s sports.

Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), while announcing plans to restrict the women’s category at the Olympic Games to biological females, said a review of scientific evidence found “a clear consensus” that “male sex provides a performance advantage in all sports and events that rely on strength, power and resistance.”

However, opponents of the bans contend that the measures discriminate against transgender students and dispute claims that there is a settled scientific consensus showing transgender women possess an inherent competitive advantage in every sporting context.