State attorney general involved in SCOTUS trans athletes case responds as 130 Democrats back men in women’s sports
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W.V. Attorney General John McCuskey intervened in his state’s upcoming Supreme Court case against trans athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson after 130 congressional Democrats filed an amicus brief supporting Pepper-Jackson.
Pepper-Jackson filed the case West Virginia v, BPJ in July 2024, to challenge the state law, The Save Women’s Sports Act, to compete on a high school women’s track and field and cross-country team. But the case will now be heard by the US Supreme Court in January.
“The Save Women’s Sports Act is intended to make sports fair and safe for everyone involved. It is not about banning anyone from competing. Biological men can compete against biological men, but not against biological women,” McCuskey said in a statement provided to News Digital through law firm Alliance Defending Freedom.
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“Women and girls have lost spots on sports teams, given up spots on championship podiums, and suffered injuries competing against bigger, faster, stronger men. This case is about preserving the hard-won victories of Title IX and, most of all, protecting our female athletes.”
The lawsuit was filed against the state of West Virginia by trans athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson, who was initially granted a preliminary injunction allowing the athlete to participate on the school’s sports teams. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law violated Title IX and the equal protection clause. Now, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the state’s appeal.
In a response brief, the athlete’s mother, Heather Jackson, argued West Virginia Law banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports violates Title IX.
However, Title IX does not explicitly protect the right of biologically male transgender people to identify as female. The Trump administration and the West Virginia state government do not interpret Title IX to protect that right.
LEGAL DEFENSE TO PROTECT WOMEN’S SPORTS IN BATTLE OF SCOTUS BY TRANS ATHLETES RESPONDS TO ATTEMPT TO DROP THE CASE
Becky Pepper-Jackson attends the Lambda Legal Liberty Awards on June 8, 2023 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Lambda Legal)
He 130 Democrats Among those who have supported Pepper-Jackson are nine senators and 121 House members.
The list of signatories includes prominent figures from the left wing of the party, including representatives. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezD-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. The list also includes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. The list does not include prominent moderate Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“Categorical bans, like those in West Virginia and Idaho, undermine those protections and the ability of transgender students to be part of their school community,” the brief says.
The amicus brief also expressed support for another trans athlete, Lindsay Hecox, whose case will also be heard by the Supreme Court in January.
The Little v. Hecox was initially introduced by trans athlete Lindsay Hecox in 2020, when the athlete wanted to join the women’s cross-country team at Boise State and was blocked by a state law preventing trans athletes from competing in women’s sports.
Hecox was joined by an unnamed biological student, Jane Doe, who was concerned about the possibility of being subjected to the sexual dispute verification process. The challenge was successful when a federal judge blocked Idaho state law.
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A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction blocking the state law in 2023, before the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case. Hecox then asked the court last month to drop the challenge, claiming the athlete “has therefore decided to permanently retire and refrain from playing any women’s sport at BSU or in Idaho.”
Hecox tried to have the case dismissed in September after the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case, but U.S. District Judge David Nye, appointed by the president donald trump In 2017, he denied Hecox’s motion to dismiss the case.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to Title IX enforcement and in mainstream media outlets such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The News and ESPN.com.