Federal appeals court overturns West Virginia's transgender sports ban

A federal appeals court struck down a West Virginia law that barred transgender athletes from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams in public schools and colleges.

In a 2-1 ruling, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Becky Pepper-Jackson, 13, a transgender girl who argued that the law prevented her from running on the girls’ cross-country and track teams at her West Virginia middle school.

The federal appeals court, which is based in Richmond, Virginia, concluded that the state legislation violated Title IX, a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools or education programs that receive funding from the federal government.

“Offering B.P.J. a ‘choice’ between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is no real choice at all,” Judge Toby Heytens wrote using the plaintiff’s initials. “The defendants cannot expect that B.P.J. will countermand her social transition, her medical treatment, and all the work she has done with her schools, teachers, and coaches for nearly half her life by introducing herself to teammates, coaches, and even opponents as a boy.”

Joshua Block, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued on behalf of Jackson, applauded the judge’s ruling.

“This is a tremendous victory for our client, transgender West Virginians, and the freedom of all youth to play as who they are,” Block said in a statement. “It also continues a string of federal courts ruling against bans on the participation of transgender athletes and in favor of their equal participation as the gender they know themselves to be. This case is fundamentally about the equality of transgender youth in our schools and our communities and we’re thankful