The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday kept in place state laws banning transgender athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
The decision stems from challenges to bans in Idaho and West Virginia and marks a major setback for transgender rights across the country. The decision also came as President Donald Trump’s administration has pursued a broad anti-trans agenda that has extended beyond athletics.
The nation’s highest court found, 6-3, that the bans in Idaho and West Virginia do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment — a key question in both cases before the court.
The court was unanimous that Title IX, a landmark 1972 law that mandated sports teams be equally provided to male and female students, does not block bans like the ones in Idaho and West Virginia.
