On April 16, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with teen trans runner Becky Pepper-Jackson and overturned a West Virginia law that banned transgender athletes from competing on girls' and women's sports teams in public schools and colleges.
According to NBC News, in a two-to-one ruling, the Richmond, Virginia-based court concluded that the state legislation violated Title IXa federal civil-rights law that bars 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," wrote Judge Toby Heytens, 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."
Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed the state's anti-trans sports bill into law in 2021, making West Virginia one of the first states to restrict trans athletes. Now, according to the think tank the Movement Advancement Project, 23 other states have passed such legislation. Pepper-Jackson has been allowed to compete on her school's girls' cross-country team since the appeals court temporarily halted the law from taking place in February 2023.
Andrew Davis