The three liberal justices on the Supreme Court, all women, faced criticism for dissenting in a recent decision that permits public schools to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports. The ruling effectively overturned lower court decisions that had sided with transgender students challenging such bans in Idaho and West Virginia.
In a unanimous 6-3 decision, the Court concluded that barring transgender individuals from school sports does not violate Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. However, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, arguing the bans may violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Conservative commentator Libs of TikTok wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the dissenting justices "just voted AGAINST women's and girls' protections in sports," adding, "Democrats hate women."
South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace also commented on X, stating, "The party of women votes against women. You can't make this stuff up."
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer who has spoken out against the inclusion of transgender women in women's sports, criticized the liberal justices on X. She wrote, "Jackson, Kagan, and Sotomayor ruled against women having equal protection under the law. Liberal women, yet again, prove to be the biggest hurdle women face."
Author Michael Rothman commented that the three female justices "voted to let biological males take medals, scholarships, and podiums from girls."
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, who concurred with the majority, wrote in his opinion, "Men and boys with gender dysphoria are not women or girls, even if they believe that they are."
The primary case involved a transgender athlete from West Virginia who sought to overturn the state's ban on biological males competing in girls' and women's sports. The ban, enacted in April 2021, had been blocked by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals three years later.
Justice Sotomayor, writing the dissenting opinion, agreed that the Court had largely addressed the Title IX claims correctly but argued that the athlete should have been given more time to pursue arguments under the Equal Protection Clause. She described the majority's decision as "an opinion unencumbered by fact or law" that "cuts off that process prematurely."
Momentum for conservative gender policies was a notable aspect of former President Donald Trump's 2024 reelection campaign. Following the ruling, Trump posted on Truth Social, "BIG WIN: The United States Supreme Court just RULED AGAINST MEN PLAYING IN WOMEN'S SPORTS. Wow! That takes that ridiculous situation off the table!!!"
