January 1, Supreme Court Focuses on Fairness in Trans Athlete Case

Wyatt’s Take

• The Supreme Court heard arguments over state laws restricting transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
• Most justices seemed ready to back the states’ position on fairness and safety.
• The issue pits equality claims against concerns for women’s sports competition.

The Supreme Court justices had a tough time agreeing about whether transgender female students should be allowed to compete in girls’ sports. At issue were laws in Idaho and West Virginia, which are among about 30 states seeking to protect fairness and safety in women’s and girls’ school sports by stopping transgender females from participating.

Opponents of the laws argued these rules are discriminatory and hurt students by denying them dignity and opportunity. The high court is looking at whether these bans break equal protection laws or go against Title IX, which has protected women’s rights in education for decades.

“The numbers don’t talk about the human beings,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor, highlighting the struggle of balancing rights for transgender students with the needs of female athletes.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked, “The law expressly aims to ensure that transgender women can’t play on women’s sports teams. So, why is that not a classification on the basis of transgender status?”

Chief Justice John Roberts pushed back, saying, “The question here is whether a sex-based classification is necessarily a transgender classification.” Others worried about how any exceptions could set bigger standards that go far beyond sports.

Justice Samuel Alito stressed that concerns of female athletes are genuine and shouldn’t be dismissed. “There are an awful lot of female athletes who are strongly opposed to participation by trans athletes in competitions with them. What do you say about them? Are they bigots? Are they deluded in thinking they are subjected to unfair competition?”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, “For the individual girl who does not make the team or doesn’t get on the stand for the medal or doesn’t make all-league, there’s a harm there. And I think we can’t sweep that aside.”

The court’s decision is expected to have a big effect on school sports across the country, and the debate continues outside the courthouse, where protestors on both sides made their voices heard.

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Wyatt Matters

Folks in the heartland know fairness matters most on and off the playing field. Protecting girls’ sports gives our daughters a fair shot, just like we promised with Title IX years ago. Families want common sense, not politics, deciding who plays on which team.