The Court’s decision determined that the Idaho and West Virginia laws do not violate either Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause.

New York, NY — Today, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the states in West Virginia v. BPJ and Idaho’s Little v. Hecox, landmark LGBTQ+ rights cases. In their ruling, the Court held that states have sufficient justification to ban transgender student athletes from participating on teams that correspond to their gender identity. Crucially, the Court’s decision is specific to the context of sports and does not create a license to discriminate across other areas of public life. 

These cases came before the Supreme Court after federal lawsuits blocked the enforcement of West Virginia’s 2021 ban on transgender athletic participation and Idaho’s 2020 ban on transgender athletes and requirements for sex testing. These states are two of 27 that have banned transgender women and girls from playing in school sports since 2020. 

“This is a heartbreaking ruling for our families. Transgender people, including transgender youth, just want to live their lives — to learn, to grow, to play,” said Family Equality’s CEO, Darra Gordon. “To deny a child community and belonging because of who they are is cruel. As a nation, we should be removing barriers to a child’s right to play, not creating new ones. To every transgender athlete, every family watching this ruling land, and every girl and woman in sports who never asked for invasive policies policing her body: we see you. We will keep working to ensure our transgender neighbors, friends, and family members are treated with the same respect and dignity as anyone else.”

While Federal courts had blocked enforcement of the Idaho and West Virginia bans on trans athletes, today’s Supreme Court allows those bans to stand.

“Today’s ruling is devastating for transgender youth, their families, and their teammates,” said Nikhil Vashee, Senior Director of Education Law and Policy for Family Equality. “While today’s decision allows states to discriminate, it does not require that our communities embrace exclusion. We must make our voices heard in state houses and school board meetings and make clear that every child deserves to belong.” 

In response to today’s decision, LGBTQ+ and civil rights organizations are coming together to send a clear message: No court decision can erase transgender people from our teams, our schools, or our communities. 

Join Lambda Legal, Family Equality, and others for a ‘Fight for the T in Team’ activation in your city. Family Equality also plans to release additional resources breaking down the implications of this decision in the weeks to come.

Read the Supreme Court’s full opinion here.

Family Equality is the only national nonprofit dedicated to protecting and advancing the freedoms of all LGBTQ+ families through bold advocacy, powerful community building, and transformative education. 

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