Away from WNBA, transgender sports participation’s future decided state by state

On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws banning transgender girls and women from women's sports in Idaho and West Virginia do not violate federal civil rights laws.

The nine justices unanimously agreed the state laws do not violate federal Title IX provisions but were split on whether the laws violate the equal protection clause in the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which says the government should not "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

The plaintiffs in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. argued that the challenged laws unconstitutionally discriminated against transgender people. But the Supreme Court ruled that because Title IX – which was enacted in 1972 and requires equal treatment for male and female athletes – explicitly allows sex-segregated athletic teams, states can limit players to participation based on their sex at birth.

"The Court concludes that separate sports teams for biological males and biological females are reasonable given the inherent physical differences between the sexes," Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion. "The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women's and girl's sports throughout America."

Since then, the conversation around transgender athlete participation…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/