Major Victory: High Court Says States Can Ban Males In Female Sports
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds laws in West Virginia and Idaho that exclude men who identify as female from participating in female athletics, upholding fairness for girls and women.
The era of men on the winner’s stand in female athletics may be coming to a close.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Tuesday that males who identify as female have no legal right under either the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause or Title IX — the milestone 1992 federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational institutions — to compete in female athletics.
The majority concluded that states (which currently numbers 27) can segregate athletics into distinct male and female categories.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said that separating sports by biological sex is “reasonable” and serves important and lawful state interests by protecting competitive fairness and safety for female athletes.
He notes that students don’t have an inherent right to play on a particular school sports team; some cannot qualify athletically.
“While it is an unhappy occasion whenever a student who wants to play school sports cannot do so, the Title IX regulations guarantee only ‘equal athletic opportunity.’” wrote Kavanaugh.
After today’s decision, it appears the remaining question is whether girls and women have a right to keep males off female sports teams and out of their locker rooms.
The majority agreed that biological differences create distinct athletic advantages for the vast majority of males. Kavanaugh wrote that states are not required to constantly evaluate and manage sports eligibility to ferret out individualized exceptions. Imposing such a requirement would “fundamentally undermine women’s and girls’ sports,” he wrote.
