- West Virginia’s entire congressional delegation signed onto a Supreme Court brief supporting the state’s transgender sports ban.
- The brief backs HB 3293, the Save Women’s Sports Act, requiring athletes to compete based on sex assigned at birth.
- Supporters argue the law aligns with Title IX and ensures fairness for female athletes.
- The U.S. Supreme Court will review West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Hecox v. Little.
- Opponents say the ban targets transgender youth, including student Becky Pepper-Jackson.
West Virginia’s congressional delegation has formally joined a national Republican-led effort urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold state laws banning transgender athletes from competing in female sports divisions.
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed Friday, 48 Republican lawmakers including 15 senators and 33 House members backed both West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Hecox v. Little, two cases challenging restrictions on transgender participation in women’s sports. The signatories included U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, along with Reps. Carol Miller and Riley Moore.
“Women’s sports should remain just that women’s sports,” Capito said in a statement. “West Virginia has a proud tradition of female athletes who deserve a level playing field, and I’m proud to stand with my colleagues in defending that principle.”
Rep. Riley Moore echoed the sentiment, calling the state law “common sense” and arguing that biological differences between men and women necessitate separate athletic divisions.
At the heart of the case is House Bill 3293, passed in 2021 and known as the Save Women’s Sports Act. The law requires athletes in middle school, high school, and college to compete in divisions that correspond with their sex assigned at birth.
It applies to competitions governed by the NCAA and other college associations. Enforcement was initially allowed but later blocked by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of Becky Pepper-Jackson, a transgender high school runner who has identified as female since third grade and uses puberty-blocking medication.
Backers of HB 3293 argue the measure aligns with Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. “Allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports undermines the very fairness and protections Title IX was designed to provide,” Capito said.
Several additional amicus briefs were filed Friday, including one on behalf of 96 current and former West Virginia legislators. That filing asserted the law’s intent was to “preserve equal opportunity for female athletes” and ensure competitions remain “safe and fair.”
The Trump administration also submitted a brief, citing an executive order signed earlier this year barring transgender student-athletes from competing outside their sex assigned at birth. The filing called participation of transgender women in female sports “demeaning, unfair, and dangerous.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling in these cases is expected to set a major precedent on how states may regulate transgender participation in school athletics, with nationwide implications for both athletes and Title IX enforcement.
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