USA Powerlifting has welcomed the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision to uphold state laws that restrict transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports categories. The organization, which was involved in a lawsuit concerning a transgender powerlifter, stated that the ruling reflects a common-sense approach to protecting women's sports and that the law has now aligned with scientific understanding.
In 2021, USA Powerlifting was sued by transgender lifter JayCee Cooper after the organization denied Cooper's participation in the women's team. A district court initially ruled that USA Powerlifting had discriminated against Cooper, but this decision was later overturned on appeal. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ultimately found that Cooper had not been discriminated against.
Following the Supreme Court's decision, USA Powerlifting released a statement saying, "The highest court in the land has affirmed what we've argued for six years: protecting women's sports is common sense and not discrimination." The organization added that "The law has caught up with the science and now Minnesota is even more of a legal outlier." To accommodate all athletes, USA Powerlifting established an "open" category in 2021 for individuals of all gender identities.
The Supreme Court's ruling supports state laws enacted in Idaho and West Virginia, which were challenged by transgender athletes seeking to compete in female sports. Constitutional law experts note that the ruling suggests transgender status is not a protected class in the same way as race or religion, leaving such decisions to individual states. The states involved in the legal defense were supported by the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, while the athletes were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Cooley Legal.
With this ruling, over half of U.S. states are now empowered to enforce protections for women's sports without the immediate threat of legal challenges. However, 23 states do not have specific laws regarding transgender athletes in sports, and some of these states have legislation protecting transgender athletes' participation in girls' sports.
Surveys suggest that a significant majority of Americans, approximately 80%, do not believe that biological males should compete against biological females in sports.