US Supreme Court upholds state bans on transgender athletesstate bans on transgender athletes in women's sports
The US Supreme Court upheld state laws in Idaho and West Virginia banning transgender girls and women from competing on female school athletic teams on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion stating schools can base sports eligibility on biological sex under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.
This ruling delivers a significant legal victory to Republican-led states and clarifies the nationwide standard for transgender participation in women's school sports.
Trump Administration and Republican States
Republican-led states and President Trump frame the ruling as a major legal victory to protect biological women's sports from what they call a radical transgender agenda.
Challenging Students and Civil Rights Advocates
Students who challenged the measures argue the bans discriminate based on sex or transgender status, violating the Constitution's 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection and Title IX civil rights statutes.
- The 2020 Supreme Court ruling cited in the opinion established that workplace sex discrimination includes discrimination against transgender people.
- West Virginia's 2021 law defines female strictly as a person whose reproductive biology and genetics at birth were female.
- President Trump praised the verdict on Tuesday as a 'BIG WIN' for protecting women's and girls' sports.
