Supreme Court could take first transgender sports case after appeal from West Virginia soccer player

Kaelan Deese

March 09, 02:35 PM March 09, 02:36 PM

A West Virginia soccer player's appeal to the Supreme Court could give the 6-3 conservative majority its first chance to weigh in on the contentious issue of transgender athletes in women's sports.

West Virginia State University soccer player Lainey Armistead and her counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom on Thursday are slated to ask the highest court in the land to lift an appeals court injunction against the state's Save Women's Sports Act, which aims to ban biological male students who identify as women from participating in girls school sports teams.

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"We are now asking SCOTUS to vacate that unreasonable and incorrect injunction," West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said during a press conference Thursday.

The law was passed in 2021 but was subject to litigation by the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Becky Pepper-Jackson, a transgender middle school student who was blocked from participating with the girls cross-country team. The ACLU contends the law violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause and Title IX, a federal statute prohibiting sex-based discrimination.

A district court earlier this year ruled in favor of the West Virginia law, saying it was constitutional and consistent with Title IX, which shields against sex-based discrimination.

The ACLU appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and requested an injunction, meaning the law is currently halted while the lawsuit unfolds.

"We know that we should win on the merits. We know that the original district court judge put in place an injunction that ultimately changed his mind and agreed with us that the law is constitutional," Morrisey said, adding that's why the state and ADF believe the Supreme Court will "ultimately lift the injunction."

Armistead decided to become a party in the case on behalf of herself and other female athletes, saying the ACLU's defense of Pepper-Jackson threatens her ability to compete fairly.

"I never dreamed this would be an issue in West Virginia," Armistead said in a statement. "Whenever I heard about the Connecticut lawsuit or just the girls losing out, I was really devastated for them because I know how much work all these athletes have put into their individual sports."

The Connecticut lawsuit surrounded three high school female track and field athletes who sued the state after being forced to compete against a transgender woman and claimed to miss out on several scholarship opportunities, as well as athletic recognition awards. That lawsuit has been ongoing for five years and is still playing out in lower courts.

Morrisey said the appeal to the Supreme Court is expected to become finalized later this afternoon.

The Washington Examiner contacted the ADF and ACLU for a response.