Transgender girls school sports bans upheld by Supreme Court in Idaho and West Virginia

The US Supreme Court upheld state rules that stop transgender girls and women joining female school sports teams. The ruling backed bans passed in Idaho and West Virginia. The court said the laws do not break the Constitution. The court also said the bans do not breach Title IX. Title IX bans sex bias in education.

Representative image

The decision is expected to affect other similar laws across the country. More than two dozen Republican-led states have adopted limits on female transgender athletes. The court’s conservative majority has often ruled against transgender Americans recently. The ruling marked another loss for transgender people in legal disputes over sports access.

Transgender athletes ban under Title IX and the Constitution

States defending the bans said Title IX should not be read like workplace rules. Idaho state Solicitor General Alan Hurst said the law protects fairness. Alan Hurst argued sports need clear limits. Alan Hurst said, "where sports are concerned, men and women are obviously not the same.\" Supporters said the 2020 workplace ruling should not apply here.

In 2020, the Supreme Court said a federal civil rights law shields LGBTQ workers. The court found sex plays a clear role in employer punishment of transgender people. Last year, six conservative justices took a different approach. The court upheld state bans on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The majority then declined to use the same analysis.

Transgender athletes ban cases from West Virginia and Idaho

Becky Pepper-Jackson is a 16-year-old high school sophomore in Bridgeport, West Virginia. Becky Pepper-Jackson has taken puberty-blocking medication. Becky Pepper-Jackson has identified as a girl since age 8. Becky Pepper-Jackson has a West Virginia birth certificate listing Becky Pepper-Jackson as female. Becky Pepper-Jackson is the only transgender person seeking girls sports in the state.

Becky Pepper-Jackson improved in school sports over time. Becky Pepper-Jackson went from a back-of-the-pack middle school cross-country runner. Becky Pepper-Jackson later became a statewide champion in the shot put. Becky Pepper-Jackson won last month’s West Virginia championship meet. Becky Pepper-Jackson beat the second-place finisher by two feet.

In Idaho, Lindsay Hecox challenged the state’s first-in-the-nation ban. Lindsay Hecox wanted a chance to try out at Boise State University. The aim was to join the women’s track and cross-country teams. Lindsay Hecox did not make either squad due to speed. Lawyer Kathleen Hartnett told the court this during arguments in January.

Even without making the university teams, Lindsay Hecox stayed active in sport. Kathleen Hartnett said Lindsay Hecox competed in club-level soccer and running. In Pepper-Jackson’s case, lawyers said common sex-based distinctions can fit many sports. They argued the client lacked those advantages. They pointed to the unique timing of an early transition.

Transgender athletes ban debate in sport and public opinion

Sports figures took different sides in the dispute. Tennis champion Martina Navratilova backed the state bans. Swimmers Summer Sanders and Donna de Varona also supported them. Beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings joined that view. On the other side, soccer stars Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn supported transgender athletes.

Basketball players Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart also backed transgender athletes. The number of athletes involved has been cited as small. NCAA president Charlie Baker told Congress in 2024 he knew of 10 transgender athletes. That was out of more than half a million students on college teams. Yet the issue has remained a major political focus.

Policy shifts followed federal action and sports body decisions. Charlie Baker’s NCAA barred transgender women from women’s sports. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committees did the same. These steps came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order. The order aimed to block transgender women from women’s sports participation.

Polling suggested many Americans supported restrictions for minors. An Associated Press-NORC poll in October 2025 measured views. About 6 in 10 US adults supported limits for transgender children. Respondents favoured teams matching sex assigned at birth. About 2 in 10 opposed the limits. About one-quarter had no opinion.

Population estimates added context to the broader debate. The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law gave figures. About 2.1 million adults in the US identify as transgender. That equals about 0.8 per cent of adults. The estimate for ages 13 to 17 was 724,000 people. That equals about 3.3 per cent.

The ruling did not settle all legal fights on the issue. Lawsuits continue in places like Connecticut and California. Those cases challenge laws and rules that allow participation by gender identity. The Supreme Court decision focused on bans in Idaho and West Virginia. It left questions about permissive policies for later court battles.

With inputs from PTI