Supreme Court to hear case on transgender athlete bans

(NewsNation) — The Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to take up a case on transgender athlete bans, with leaders in Idaho and West Virginia defending their states' restrictions.

The court recently upheld a Tennessee ban that prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to minors if that patient is being used to help them transition. Similar bans in other states were sent back to lower courts following the decision.

Transgender athletes have been a major talking point for Republicans, along with bans on gender-affirming care for minors. Sports bans largely focus on the participation of trans women and girls in sports and not trans men and boys who want to play on men's teams.

Transgender people make up a small percentage of the U.S. population. A study from the Williams Institute estimated there are around 300,100 trans teens between the ages of 13 and 17 in the country.

Not all of those people are women, and not all of them are athletes. There isn't a lot of data on sports participation at the middle and high school levels, but the president of the NCAA has said he knew of fewer than 10 trans athletes in the entire 510,000 population of college athletes.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year prohibiting trans athletes from competing in women's sports.

Some states have pushed back, continuing to allow trans girls to play on girls sports teams. The Trump administration has tried to force states to reverse those polices and prohibit trans women in women's sports by threatening to withhold funding.

There are 27 states with bans on trans athlete participation. Idaho was the first state to institute such a law in 2020.

Those laws have faced legal challenges arguing they violate the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment and Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools.

In Idaho, the American Civil Liberties Union brought a case on behalf of Lindsay Hecox, a transgender runner who sought to compete on the Boise State University women's track and cross country teams.

In West Virginia, the ACLU is representing Becky Pepper-Jackson, a high school student who throws discus and participates in track and field. She was 11 when the lawsuit began.

The Supreme Court decision will likely come next summer.