Trans athlete ban in West Virginia overturned by federal appeals court

A federal appeals court has blocked a West Virginia law banning transgender girls from participating on a sports team that aligns with their gender identity, saying the state’s law violates Title IX – the federal statute that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools.

On Tuesday, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act” could not lawfully be applied to prevent a 13-year-old transgender from participating on her school’s cross country and track team.

The law, enacted in 2021, forces student-athletes to compete and play against those of their biological gender. It was first challenged by Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 13-year-old transgender girl who runs track for her middle school. She has identified as a girl and has been taking puberty-blocking medication since she was in third grade.

The Fourth Circuit said the law would force Pepper-Jackson to participate on an all-boys sports team or not at all – which is not a fair choice.

They added that if she were to participate on the all-boys team, she would be subjected to unfair competition and it would directly contradict the treatment for gender dysphoria.

“The defendants cannot expect that BPJ will countermand her social transition, her medical treatment, and all the work she has done with her schools, teachers, and coaches for nearly half her life by introducing herself to teammates, coaches, and even opponents as a boy,” the Fourth Circuit said.

Though the ruling is a win for Pepper-Jackson, the court only narrowly awarded protections for her.

The Fourth Circuit caveated that Title IX does not require schools “to allow every transgender girl to play on girls teams, regardless of whether they have gone through puberty and experienced elevated levels of circulating testosterone.”

This handout photograph taken on June 26, 2021, and released by The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), shows Becky Pepper-Jackson, in Bridgeport, West Virginia (ACLU/AFP via Getty Images)

After the law was enacted in West Virginia, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal challenged it on behalf of Pepper-Jackson.

A lower court initially placed an injunction on the law while litigation was ongoing. Ultimately, the lower court decided to allow the law to take effect. They appealed to the Fourth Circuit last year; the court decided to allow Pepper-Jackson to participate on her school’s track and field team.

West Virginia then asked the US Supreme Court to grant an emergency stay request and remove Pepper-Jackson from the track and field team, which it denied.

“Nothing makes me happier than being on a team with my friends and competing on behalf of my school,” Pepper-Jackson said in a press release. “I have many more years of cross-country and track-and-field left, and I just want the opportunity to participate in school sports like any other girl.”

West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports Act” is part of a growing number of state legislation, seeking to prevent transgender women and girls from participating or competing on women’s or girls’ sports teams. More than 20 states have passed similar legislation.

Last year, House Republicans passed legislation that would impose national restrictions on transgender girls from competing in sports. The Democratic-controlled Senate refused to take up the bill.

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