Trans youth deserve to play, to learn, and to exist freely. We will never stop fighting until that’s the reality for all trans kids, no matter what the Supreme Court says.
On June 30, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its ruling in two cases, West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, brought to the Supreme Court by states defending categorical bans on transgender women and girls participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams. The Supreme Court upheld Idaho and West Virginia’s sports bans, holding that these laws do not violate either Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause.
B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education is a lawsuit brought by and on behalf of then 11-year-old, now 16-year old Becky Pepper-Jackson. Becky comes from a family of avid runners and was looking forward to trying out for the girls’ cross-country team as she prepared to start middle school when Gov. Jim Justice signed HB 3293 into law. H.B. 3293 bans girls and women who are transgender from participating in school sports.
This ruling is harmful for transgender women and girls who only asked to play sports with their friends and peers—just like every other student athlete. But Lambda Legal will not be deterred and will continue to fight back to secure the equal participation that all youth, including transgender youth, deserve.
