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Supreme Court hears arguments on bans against transgender athletes from women's sports
The Supreme Court is considering the future of transgender athletes in women's and girls' sports. The High Court judges listened to almost three hours of oral argument on Tuesday, and a majority appear ready to allow states to ban trans athletes from participating in women's and girls' sports.
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court is considering the future of transgender athletes in women's and girls' sports.
The High Court judges listened to almost three hours of oral argument on Tuesday, and a majority appear ready to allow states to ban trans athletes from participating in women's and girls' sports.
What they're saying:
Justice Brett Kavanaugh seemed to suggest continuing to allow states to decide how to handle the issue, noting that the country is roughly split with 27 states banning participation and the other 23 allowing it for now.
He questioned why the court should step in when there is still "scientific uncertainty" about the effects of hormone therapies or lack thereof on athletic performance.
And on the liberal side, Justice Sonia Sotomayor expressed a lot of skepticism about the ACLU's claims when it came to Title IX. If the Title IX regulation says that states may have male and female teams, how can you say that they can't have male and female themes? And so that was a delightful surprise."
"West Virginia and Idaho defended their statewide bans on trans athletes participating in women's and girls' sports," said John Bursch with the Alliance Defending Freedom.
They argue that the bans are required to preserve fairness and safety in women's sports. They also argue that Congress has already allowed sports programs to split based on sex in order to preserve and protect women's sports.
They say these bans simply continue to do that by allowing participation based on sex assigned at birth or biological sex.
Dig deeper:
In 2020, the court said an employer cannot fire someone for being transgender because it discriminates on the basis of sex in violation of Title XI's prohibition on sex discrimination in the employment context.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, asked whether these bans discriminate on the basis of transgender status, which could invite greater scrutiny from the courts and make it more difficult for states to pass them.
Fellow Trump appointee Justice Amy Coney Barrett emphasized that the bans do not necessarily prevent trans boys and men from participating in male sports, so the bans do not discriminate against all transgender athletes.
"Sure, I think when folks are worried about whether this is fair or not, they are seeing two options here. Either trans folks don't get to play sports or we have no policies or regulations or ways to ensure fairness, and that is deeply not the case. Really, what has been happening before these overarching sports bands because there were trans folks playing sports long before there were,"
"The challengers argue that the bans violate both Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding and the constitution's guarantee to equal protection of the laws. They also argue that the law unfairly applies to trans women athletes who have declined to go through puberty or take hormones to prevent a sex-based biological advantage over athletes who are born female," Caleb Smith, Center for American Progress
A decision is expected by late June or early July.