Supreme Court Hears Idaho and West Virginia Transgender Athlete Ban Cases Under Title IX and Equal Protection
On Jan. 13, 2026 the Supreme Court heard paired challenges to Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act—brought by college runner Lindsay Hecox and high‑school athlete Becky Pepper‑Jackson—asking whether state bans on transgender girls in school sports violate Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause after lower courts enjoined the laws. The Trump administration’s solicitor general sided with the states, Republican officials and some athletes urged the Court to permit sex‑based eligibility rules on fairness grounds, while civil‑rights groups say the bans are unlawful sex discrimination; a ruling could affect policies in about 27 states and broader questions beyond school athletics.
📌 Key Facts
- The Supreme Court heard arguments on Jan. 13, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. EST in two companion cases challenging state bans that bar transgender girls and women from school sports: West Virginia’s case (West Virginia v. BPJ) involving 15‑year‑old high‑school athlete Becky Pepper‑Jackson, and the Idaho case brought by college student Lindsay Hecox.
- The laws at issue are West Virginia’s 2021 "Save Women’s Sports Act" (signed by then‑Gov. Jim Justice, now Sen. Jim Justice) and Idaho’s "Fairness in Women’s Sports Act," which requires teams to be designated by "biological sex" and allows sex to be disputed via a required health exam and consent form; lower courts blocked both laws and the 9th Circuit affirmed the injunction against Idaho’s law.
- The Biden‑era challenger groups and the ACLU argue the bans are sex discrimination that violate Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, while the Trump administration’s solicitor general is formally siding with the states and supporters (including Republican attorneys general, governors, and some female athletes) argue Title IX and equal protection permit sex‑based distinctions to protect fairness in women’s sports.
- Supporters frame the cases as defending opportunities won under Title IX and warned the Court that allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports is "unfair" to cisgender female athletes; opponents counter that transgender participation in school sports is rare and that athletic competition inherently involves biological variability that does not justify categorical bans.
- More than two dozen states (reported as 27) have enacted similar bans, and advocates warn the Court’s ruling could reach beyond school athletics to influence policies on bathroom access and sex designations on official documents; national sports bodies and federal policy have already moved toward restricting transgender participation (e.g., NCAA limits, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee changes, and a Trump executive order targeting federal funding).
- Plaintiff Becky Pepper‑Jackson’s background was highlighted in reporting: she initially ran on girls’ teams, was later cut from cross‑country for being slow, then competed in shot put and discus, with state officials citing early high rankings as evidence of advantage and ACLU lawyers arguing that sport always involves physical disparities.
- Allegations surfaced that the West Virginia plaintiff sexually harassed a former middle‑school teammate; the accuser and her parents, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, say the school inadequately responded, while the ACLU and a district letter say the claims were found unsubstantiated — West Virginia’s attorney general said those allegations are not part of the Supreme Court case.
- Idaho’s case also raises a procedural mootness question because Lindsay Hecox has said she will not participate in women’s sports at Boise State or in Idaho; Idaho defendants include the state attorney general and collegiate athletes who say they lost roster spots or scholarships to a transgender competitor.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2024, there were fewer than 10 transgender athletes competing in NCAA college sports out of approximately 510,000 total athletes.
NCAA president says there are 'less than 10' transgender athletes in college sports — The Hill
Detransition rates are higher among transgender women (11%) than transgender men (4%), with common reasons including pressure from parents (36%) and transitioning being harder than expected (24%).
Detransition Among Transgender and Gender-Diverse People — An Increasing and Increasingly Heterogeneous Phenomenon — NIH (PubMed Central)
Transgender women retain strength advantages over cisgender women even after 3 years of hormone therapy, with studies showing persistent differences in measures like handgrip strength and jumping ability.
New Study Bolsters Idea of Athletic Differences Between Men and Women — The New York Times
The increase in transgender identification among US youth from 2015 to 2025 is associated with greater social acceptance, visibility in media, and shifting population demographics, with rates rising from about 0.6% in 2014 to 2.8% in 2024 among ages 18-24.
Stability and Change in Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Across Development — Society for Research in Child Development (Wiley Online Library)
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
Evolutionary Psychology, Sex Wars, Revolutionary Negation
"A critical, theory‑driven commentary that reads the Supreme Court transgender‑athlete cases through the lens of contested science and culture‑war politics, arguing that biological rhetoric is being misused to justify exclusion and that what’s needed is a deeper structural rethinking of sex and gender rather than legal bans."
📰 Source Timeline (12)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 13, 2026
3:43 PM
Listen Live: Supreme Court hears arguments over transgender athlete bans
New information:
- Clarifies the specific statutory titles of the laws: Idaho’s 'Fairness in Women’s Sports Act' and West Virginia’s 'Save Women’s Sports Act.'
- Details that Idaho’s law requires teams to be designated based on 'biological sex' and allows sex to be 'disputed' via a required health exam and consent form.
- Notes that the Supreme Court will also discuss whether Lindsay Hecox’s case should be dismissed as moot because she has decided not to participate in any women’s sports at Boise State or in Idaho.
- Adds background that Idaho’s attorney general and Idaho State University athletes Madison Kenyon and Mary Kate Marshall are defending the Idaho law after losing to a transgender runner in 2019–2020.
- Reiterates that the 9th Circuit affirmed the district court’s injunction against Idaho’s law as likely unconstitutional.
1:57 PM
Supreme Court weighing transgender athlete bans
New information:
- CBS segment confirms that the focus of the Supreme Court hearing is state bans that bar transgender athletes from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams.
- It underscores that the key legal question is whether such state laws can stand under existing federal law and constitutional protections for transgender students.
- The piece frames the matter as the Court 'weighing' the bans now, reinforcing that arguments are actively under way this term.
1:00 PM
Republican governors urge justices to defend women's sports as Supreme Court hears key case
New information:
- A coordinated statement by Republican governors was released, warning that women's sports are 'at risk' and urging the Supreme Court to uphold Idaho’s and West Virginia’s laws.
- The governors’ letter argues that 'recognizing the unique and inherent biological differences between men and women is not radical' and that allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports is 'unfair' and 'the opposite of inclusive.'
- The statement explicitly frames the issue as defending the gains of Title IX, saying women’s equal opportunity in sports secured over the past 50 years is 'at risk again,' and pledges continued state-level action to pass and defend similar laws.
12:13 PM
Minnesota sues over Trump's ICE enforcement. And, SCOTUS hears trans athlete cases
New information:
- NPR notes that as of the hearing date, 27 states have enacted laws barring transgender athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.
- Nina Totenberg explicitly ties the prominence of transgender sports bans in public debate to Trump’s 2024 campaign rhetoric, framing the cases as part of a broader culture-war strategy.
- The piece concisely lays out supporters’ rationale (fairness and alleged competitive advantage for those assigned male at birth) versus opponents’ view that the bans are sex discrimination violating Title IX and Equal Protection.
12:05 PM
Supreme Court weighs states' power to set sex-based rules in school sports
New information:
- Confirms the Trump administration will participate at argument through the solicitor general’s office, formally siding with the states and arguing Title IX and equal protection permit sex‑based distinctions in athletics.
- Highlights that lower courts struck down Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and West Virginia’s ban as unconstitutional before the states appealed.
- Adds specific framing from West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey emphasizing the cases are about 'protecting women in both academia and on the athletic field.'
10:00 AM
A conservative Supreme Court tackles the question of trans women in school sports
New information:
- NPR piece underscores that the Court’s January 13 arguments are being framed as a major return to the 'culture wars,' with transgender participation in school sports described as extremely rare but politically amplified, including more than 15,000 anti‑trans‑sports Trump campaign ads in 2024 per AdImpact.
- Provides detailed biographical context on West Virginia plaintiff Becky Pepper‑Jackson, including that she is apparently the only openly trans girl in the state seeking to play school sports and that she initially ran on girls’ teams, then shifted to shot put and discus after being cut from cross‑country for being too slow.
- Quotes West Virginia AG John McCuskey asserting that 'biological differences between men and women matter on the field' and citing Becky’s ranking as the third‑best high school shot‑putter in the state by age 13–14 as evidence of advantage, while ACLU lawyer Josh Block counters with examples like Michael Phelps’ genetic advantages to argue that sports always involve physical disparities.
- Notes that 27 states have passed bans on transgender participation in women’s sports and highlights that elite athletes Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova are publicly split over the issue, illustrating broader divisions in sports communities.
4:00 AM
West Virginia AG addresses allegations against trans athlete plaintiff in women's sports SCOTUS battle
New information:
- West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey publicly commented on newly aired allegations that the transgender girl challenging the state’s sports law sexually harassed a former middle‑school teammate.
- McCuskey said at a press conference that harassment of any child is wrong but that the allegations are not part of the state’s Supreme Court case.
- Former teammate Adaleia Cross and her parents, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, allege the trans athlete made graphic sexual threats in a girls’ locker room in 2022–23; ADF says Cross has sworn to this under oath in multiple cases.
- The ACLU, representing the trans athlete, issued a statement saying its client and her mother deny the allegations, and that a Harrison County School District investigation deemed the claims unsubstantiated.
- The New York Times obtained a district letter stating the allegations could not be substantiated, and quoted the athlete personally denying the behavior.
- The Cross family says they were never informed of any disciplinary action and felt the school did not meaningfully respond to their report.
January 12, 2026
8:48 PM
Supreme Court to step into debate over transgender athlete bans
New information:
- CBS piece foregrounds that 27 states have enacted laws restricting transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, framing the breadth of what’s at stake.
- Details President Trump’s February executive order directing the administration to strip federal funding from programs that allow transgender girls and women to compete on teams aligned with their gender identity.
- Reports subsequent policy shifts: the NCAA now limiting participation in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth, and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee effectively barring transgender women from women’s teams.
- Provides new on-camera quotes from West Virginia plaintiff Becky Pepper‑Jackson about why she runs and what she says she wants (“the same opportunities as my peers”).
- Adds on‑record argument from Idaho‑side collegiate runner Madison Kenyon emphasizing scholarship and roster‑spot impacts on cisgender women, sharpening the fairness rationale used by states.
8:38 PM
LISTEN LIVE: Supreme Court considers whether states can ban transgender students from sports
New information:
- Confirms the precise oral‑argument timing: Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at 10 a.m. EST.
- Centers the West Virginia case around 15‑year‑old high‑school athlete Becky Pepper‑Jackson, describing her recent competition results in discus and shot put.
- Notes that West Virginia’s ban is currently blocked by lower courts even as more than two dozen states have enacted similar laws.
- Reiterates that the companion case is from Idaho, brought by college student Lindsay Hecox.
- Highlights the Trump administration’s broader second‑term posture toward transgender Americans (military ban, declaring gender immutable at birth) as context for how the Court may approach the issue.
5:58 PM
GOP attorneys general, female athletes spotlight women’s sports cases ahead of SCOTUS arguments
New information:
- Republican state attorneys general and female athletes, including Riley Gaines, held a coordinated press event in Washington, D.C., the day before arguments to urge the Court to let states set sex‑based eligibility rules for school athletics.
- Participants framed the Idaho and West Virginia cases as potential landmark decisions for the future of women’s sports and broader sex‑based policy debates.
- The article highlights that the Court’s ruling could reach beyond school sports to influence transgender bathroom access policies and sex designations on official documents such as passports and driver’s licenses.
January 11, 2026
1:40 AM
Justice urges ‘stand up for our girls’ as Supreme Court weighs fate of his 'Save Women’s Sports Act'
New information:
- Sen. Jim Justice, who signed West Virginia’s 2021 'Save Women’s Sports Act' as governor and is now a U.S. senator, gave an on‑camera interview defending the law ahead of next week’s Supreme Court arguments in West Virginia v. BPJ.
- Justice framed the case as a test of whether the country will 'stand up for our girls' and said he is 'off‑the‑chart' committed to keeping 'boys' from competing against girls, citing his experience coaching a high‑school girls’ basketball team.
- He joined an amicus brief supporting West Virginia’s defense, arguing that only Congress—not courts or agencies—should expand Title IX beyond biological sex to cover gender identity and that he sees no reason it should be expanded.
- Justice linked his stance to personal experience, noting his daughter played college basketball and saying he has seen cases where a 'man basically is competing against our girls or our women and absolutely prevails,' which he called 'tragic' for female athletes.
- The article situates Justice courtside at a girls’ high‑school basketball game in Hedgesville, W.Va., using the setting to underscore his message about work, aspirations and perceived unfairness in girls’ sports.
January 10, 2026