Former NCAA runner involved in SCOTUS battle over trans athletes speaks out after judge advances case

EXCLUSIVE: Former Idaho State University cross country runner Mary Kate Marshall will continue her role in a potentially landmark legal battle in women’s sports that will reach the Supreme Court after a federal judge’s ruling this week.

U.S. District Judge David Nye denied a transgender athlete’s request to dismiss the ongoing Hecox lawsuit against Little, in which Marshall has been a defendant since 2020 after having to compete against a biological man, keeping the case on track to be heard by Supreme Court justices early next year.

Marshall told News Digital what Nye’s ruling means to her.

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“This case gives the Supreme Court the opportunity to affirm that women and girls have the right to compete fairly. Sports have shaped the skills I use every day, skills I would not have developed without the opportunity for safe and fair competition. Women’s voices deserve to be heard loud and clear at SCOTUS with a clear message: biological men have no place in women’s sports,” Marshall said.

Marshall, along with her former ISU teammate Madison Kenyon, joined the list of defendants in Hecox v. Little after having to face trans athlete June Eastwood from the University of Montana in 2020.

They were originally the ones who tried to get the case dismissed after another transgender athlete, Lindsay Hecox, sued to block Idaho’s law that prevented trans athletes from competing in women’s sports in order to join the Boise State women’s cross-country team.

“[Kenyon and Marshall] “We were in disbelief and dismay to discover last year that… Eastwood was authorized to compete in women’s track and field and cross-country events,” Marshall and Kenyon’s original 2020 motion read.

“Both [Kenyon] and[Marshall’hadthediscouragingexperiencesofcompetingandlosingtoEastwoodandbeingknockeddownaplacementlevelduetohisparticipation”Theyfoundthattheexperienceoflosingtoamalerunnerwascategoricallydifferentthanlosingtoafemale”[Marshall’hadthedeflatingexperiencesofrunningagainstandlosingtoEastwoodandbeingknockeddownaplacementlevelbecauseofhisparticipationTheyfoundtheexperienceoflosingtoamalerunnercategoricallydifferentthanlosingtoafemale”

Kenyon previously told News Digital about his experience facing a biological man.

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“My coach sat us down in the room and told us that we were going to compete against a male athlete in a specific competition and he just let us know. And I remember sitting there and looking around the room and saying, ‘Well, what do my peers think about this? What do we do?'” Kenyon said.

“So for us, it wasn’t about whether I was going to compete or not. I’m going to put everything I have out there and see what happens. And sure enough, this male athlete beat me, he beat all my teammates, and that continued to happen throughout the season. That’s when I was like, ‘This isn’t fair.'”

Hecox’s challenge was successful, as a federal judge blocked the Idaho state law. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a court order blocking the state law in 2023.

But in July of this year, after years of fighting, Marshall, Kenyon, their lawyers and Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador managed to get their case heard by the Supreme Court. Hecox then tried to have the case dismissed, before Nye’s ruling this week.

Attorneys for Marshall and Kenyon at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) also spoke.

“Women and girls deserve to compete on a level playing field. But activists continue their quest to erase differences between men and women by forcing schools to allow men to compete in women’s sports. This contradicts biological reality and common sense. That’s why we are pleased that the district court rejected the attempt to end this case before it goes before the U.S. Supreme Court,” the lead attorney told News Digital. of ADF and vice president of appeals defense, John Bursch.

“The Constitution and Title IX allow states to protect women and girls by reserving women’s sports for women. We look forward to soon standing with the state of Idaho to argue this case before the high court and urge it to listen to the countless girls across the country who are speaking out on this issue and restore justice and safety for female athletes.”

Hecox’s attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Cooley, LLP and Legal Voice, provided a statement to News Digital after U.S. District Judge David Nye denied the trans athlete’s motion to dismiss the case on Tuesday.

“Lindsay ended her participation in any women’s sports program covered by HB 500 to prioritize finishing her career at Boise State and her personal safety and well-being. Lindsay withdrew her challenge to Idaho’s HB 500 and that remains unchanged,” the statement read.

“We will continue to defend the rights of all women and girls, including transgender women and girls.”

Hecox’s efforts to have the case dropped are not completely over, as SCOTUS has yet to rule on whether the case is moot. But Labrador, who is leading the defense against Hecox, believes Nye’s ruling is a “good sign” for his efforts to take the case to the nation’s highest court and achieve a landmark ruling.

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Labrador previously said he hopes the Supreme Court makes a decision with a broader impact than simply allowing a state to apply its own specific law on the issue. He wants a new national precedent.

“I think that’s what they’re going to do,” Labrador previously told News Digital in an exclusive interview. “I think they’re going to make an important decision about whether men can participate in women’s sports and, more importantly, how to determine whether transgender people are protected by the federal constitution and state and federal laws.”

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