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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases next term that will likely determine the future of transgender athletes’ state-level ability to compete on women’s sports teams.
The court announced its intention to take on the cases on Thursday – one from Idaho and one from West Virginia – with likely decisions on the appeals expected next summer.
Both states have laws banning transgender athletes from competing on women’s school sports teams.
According to Politico, there have been two previous rulings on both cases from the appeals court: one, in which the court found that Idaho’s law supposedly targeted transgender individuals, and the second ruling that West Virginia’s law “violates” Title IX.
Now, these cases will be considered by the Supreme Court for an ultimate decision, which will establish whether states do indeed have the right to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports.
News that SCOTUS would take up this heated issue comes just weeks after the court upheld a Tennessee ban on “gender-affirming” care for minors (SB 1), effectively also upholding the sovereignty of the state in determining its approach to such an issue.
“Idaho’s women and girls deserve an equal playing field,” said Idaho Attorney General Labrador in an official statement.
He added, “…For too long, activists have worked to sideline women and girls in their own sports. Men and women are biologically different, and we hope the Court will allow states to end this injustice and ensure that men no longer create a dangerous, unfair environment for women to showcase their incredible talent and pursue the equal opportunities they deserve.”
The Supreme Court’s decision to take up these two cases additionally comes just a few months after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning men from women’s sports by utilizing federal funding as leverage.
“We’re putting every school receiving taxpayer dollars on notice, that if you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title 9 and risk your federal funding,” Trump said in February.
“There will be no federal funding,” he continued.
