U.S. Supreme Court backs law banning transgender athletes from women’s sports
The United States Supreme Court has upheld state laws prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports in a major win for President Donald Trump, earlier issued an executive order to that effect at federal level.
In a 6-3 decision issued on Tuesday, the apex court ruled against two transgender students, Becky Pepper-Jackson and Lindsay Hecox, who filed a lawsuit challenging laws banning them from competing in women’s sports in West Virginia and Idaho, respectively.
The majority opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, determined that the Virginia and Idaho transgender restrictive laws do not violate either 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which requires that the law apply evenly to everyone, or Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars sex discrimination in education.
“The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women’s and girls’ sports throughout America,” Mr Kavanaugh wrote.
Tuesday’s ruling marked the latest blow for the transgender community at the Supreme Court after the apex court last year ruled in favour of state laws that ban gender transition treatments for transgender youth.
Additionally, in 2025, the court allowed the Trump administration to ban transgender people from serving in the military and prevent them from including their gender identity on passports.
“Today’s news has nothing to do with safety or fairness in sports. These rulings only serve to send a message to transgender and nonbinary young people that says, ‘you don’t belong,” Jaymes Black, the CEO of advocacy organisation Trevor Project said.
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