The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws banning transgender girls from playing on school sports teams with girls and women.
The ruling would not immediately impact Washington state, which has legal protections for trans athletes on the books. But the issue will make its way to the ballot this fall, when Washington voters will decide whether to implement a ban, and advocates and political campaigners on both sides of the matter are gearing up for a fight.
The high court ruled 6-3 that bans in Idaho and West Virginia are not unconstitutional and do not violate Title IX, a national law preventing sex-based discrimination. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who authored the majority decision, said this issue is a matter of fairness and physical safety in girls’ sports.
Critics of the ruling called it disappointing. Adrien Leavitt, a staff attorney with the Washington chapter of the ACLU, said Tuesday was “a sad day.”
Legal experts noted the decision would not force states like Washington to change its existing protections for trans athletes. For nearly 20 years, Washington has allowed students to participate on the sports team that most closely aligns with their gender identity.
“The court is not saying anything about states that have protective policies, and not necessarily even considering the question about how this will affect Title IX enforcement in protective states,” Elana Redfield, federal policy director for UCLA’s School of Law, told KUOW.
For those in support of blocking trans athletes from competing on girls’ teams, Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision affirmed their position.
Ahnaleigh Wilson, a high school track athlete in East Wenatchee who has spoken out in support of a trans athlete ban, called the ruling a “big win for female athletes in Washington and across the country.”
“While we may not all agree on every aspect of this issue, I know we can treat every person with dignity and respect while also preserving fair competition for female athletes,” she said.
Let’s Go Washington, the conservative PAC behind the ballot measure to ban trans girls from girls’ sports, said on social media that the ruling was “a huge win.”
“Now it's time to bring that win to Washington state,” the group also wrote, looking ahead to the statewide vote on its initiative this fall.
Twenty-seven states already have limits on trans athletes competing with girls and women. Idaho has had a ban on transgender girls competing in school sports since 2020, and West Virginia passed a ban in 2021. The two measures rely on birth certificates to confirm an athlete’s sex assigned at birth.
Washington’s proposed ban would require girls and young women to submit proof of their “biological sex.” It would likely require girls to obtain genital exams to satisfy this requirement.
This effort is “the most extreme proposal of its kind in the country,” said Libby Watson, campaign manager for No Hate in Washington State, a group opposing the ballot initiative to ban trans girls from girls’ sports. The group is also planning legal action if the measure passes this fall.
Leavitt, of the ACLU of Washington, said a ban in the state would be legally vulnerable.
“We have many laws that prohibit discrimination and in fact require transgender girls to get to play sports on girls' teams,” said Leavitt.
Polling at a national level has shown that a majority of Americans prefer trans athletes to play on teams that match their sex assigned at birth. But Washington state is more liberal than most of the states that prohibit trans girls from girls’ teams.
Superintendent Chris Reykdal, who oversees public schooling in the state, has been a staunch advocate for upholding Washington’s current policy on trans athletes. He said, even if the state’s current policy isn’t popular, it’s the right thing to do to safeguard the rights of trans kids.
“Sometimes when you protect minorities, they need a voice that doesn’t come from the majority,” Reykdal said.
