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The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a 12-year-old transgender West Virginia girl can compete on her middle school’s girls' sports teams amid a lawsuit over a ban.
Lawyers and representatives for Becky Pepper-Jackson had initially asked the Supreme Court to reject an emergency application from West Virginia lawmakers that would have allowed student-athletes to only play sports with and against those of their biological gender.
Supreme Court justices refused to disturb an appeals court order that made it possible for the girl to continue playing on her school’s track and cross-country teams. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision.
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The Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill, March 27, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
"I would grant the State’s application. Among other things, enforcement of the law at issue should not be forbidden by the federal courts without any explanation," Alito wrote in dissent.
"This is a procedural setback, but we remain confident that when this case is ultimately determined on the merits, we will prevail," West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement. "We maintain our stance that this is a common sense law – we have a very strong case. It’s just basic fairness and common sense to not have biological males play in women’s sports."
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of West Virginia and Lambda Legal celebrated the decision in a joint statement.
"We are grateful that the Supreme Court today acknowledged that there was no emergency and that Becky should be allowed to continue to participate with her teammates on her middle school track team, which she has been doing without incident for three going on four seasons, as our challenge to West Virginia’s onerous trans youth sports ban makes its way through the courts," the statement read. "This was a baseless and cruel effort to keep Becky from where she belongs – playing alongside her peers as a teammate and as a friend."
Becky said in a statement last spring that she was not a boy and insisted she run with the girls' team.
The Supreme Court ruled a transgender girl can compete on girls' track team.
"I am not a boy. I do not want to run with the boys when there is a girls’ team and I should not have to run with the boys when there is a girls’ team. Running with the girls means a lot to me because I am a girl, and I should be treated like a girl, just like all my friends who are girls," the statement read, via The Washington Post.
Lawyers for the transgender girl sued her school board after West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed the Save Women’s Sports Act into law in 2021. The law ordered student-athletes to compete and play against those of their biological gender. They claimed the Save Women’s Sports Act violates the 14th Amendment and protections under Title IX.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin ruled against the transgender girl in January and also ruled the laws did not violate Title IX protections. However, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to reinstate a preliminary injunction.
West Virginia officials have told the high court the law is needed to keep the playing field level.
Becky is the only transgender girl identified by advocates and the opposition as wanting to play on a girls’ team in West Virginia. She has been competing with and against girls since she entered middle school.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice delivers his annual State of the State at the state capitol in Charleston on Jan. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson)
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West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission, the governing body for high school athletics in the state, said when the suit was filed that it had not received any complaints about transgender athletes on girls’ teams.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.