The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Tuesday seemed inclined to uphold a pair of state laws barring the participation of transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams.
The two cases challenge laws in West Virginia and Idaho, which specify participation on girls sports teams be based on “biological sex,” defined as a person’s sex assigned at birth.
The high court’s decision will likely affect 25 other states that have similar laws regarding trans athletes.
Breaking News: The Supreme Court appeared poised to uphold a pair of state laws barring transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. https://t.co/5F9mi9HlpH
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 13, 2026
From the New York Times (gift link):
The three liberal justices, appearing to recognize the likely outcome, suggested through their questions that even if the laws are constitutional in most cases, perhaps the two transgender athletes at the heart of Tuesday’s arguments should be able to pursue their challenges.
Allowing their cases to be reviewed again by a lower court, the justices suggested, would give the athletes a chance to try to show that they themselves do not possess unfair competitive advantages even if some transgender girls do.
The conservative justices emphasized that federal law has long allowed separate sports teams for boys and girls to ensure fair competition and raised concerns about undermining the goals of Title IX, the civil rights statute that has fueled participation in women’s sports.
The plaintiffs challenging the bans say the laws don’t take into account individual circumstances, including whether someone who takes puberty-blockers or cross-gender hormones may no longer be bigger, faster or stronger than a typical female.
Lawyers for Becky Pepper-Jackson, the plaintiff from West Virginia, argued she doesn’t have an advantage over other girls because she transitioned in the third grade and never went through male puberty.
Two appeals courts have sided with the students and blocked enforcement of the laws.
The Supreme Court’s conservatives signal they are prepared to side with states that ban transgender athletes from playing on girls’ sports teams. Follow live updates: https://t.co/mcIMZBDbBo pic.twitter.com/QiwlCAuBfc
— CNN (@CNN) January 13, 2026
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