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Supreme Court Takes Up Transgender Sports Bans as Oral Arguments Begin Tuesday

The justices will weigh whether state restrictions on transgender girls in school sports violate Title IX or equal protection.

The Supreme Court stands is Washington, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on December 18, 2025.
Chase Strangio, the first openly transgender lawyer to argue before the Supreme Court, speaks before the US Supreme Court on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, on US v. Skrmetti.
AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High School in Riverside County and Kira Gant Hatcher of St. Mary’s High School in Albany, center, who tied for first place in triple jump, share the podium during the award ceremony at the 105th California Interscholastic Federation State Track & Field Championships in Clovis (Fresno County), on May 31, 2025.

Overview

  • The consolidated cases, West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, challenge state laws that bar transgender girls and women from competing on female teams.
  • Central questions include how Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination and the Constitution’s equal protection clause apply to transgender students in school athletics.
  • Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 15-year-old high school thrower in West Virginia, and Lindsay Hecox, a Boise State student, are the named plaintiffs represented by the ACLU and Lambda Legal.
  • The Trump administration’s Department of Justice backs West Virginia and Idaho, while lower-court rulings have produced mixed outcomes that kept the laws’ enforcement in flux.
  • A decision expected by June could reshape policies in roughly two dozen states, influence athletic bodies’ rules, and factor into funding fights involving states like California.