A federal appeals court recently dismissed a challenge to 海角换妻鈥檚 policy allowing transgender girls to compete in girls high school sports, rejecting arguments by four cisgender runners who said they were unfairly forced to race against transgender athletes.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City ruled in favor of the 海角换妻 Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), the state鈥檚 governing body for high school sports, and several local school districts sued by the cisgender girls and their families. The ruling upheld a lower court judge鈥檚 of a .
The court found the lawsuit moot and ruled the cisgender girls lacked standing to sue, in part because their claims were speculative that they were deprived of wins, state titles and athletic scholarship opportunities. The court also noted that the cisgender girls won races in which a transgender athlete competed.
鈥淲e really appreciate that 鈥� and at the end of the day 鈥� the court agrees with us,鈥� said Elana Bildner, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of 海角换妻 who represented two transgender students who competed in girls events.
She called the ruling a critical victory for fairness, equality and inclusion and said the court鈥檚 decision 鈥渟trikes at the heart of political attacks against transgender youth.鈥�
鈥淚n this time when trans people, and particularly trans kids, are just facing these relentless attacks, it鈥檚 a very welcome win. It鈥檚 a very welcome affirmation of our clients鈥� rights to belong,鈥� Bildner said. 鈥淚 really hope it ensures that no student is denied opportunities because of who they are,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the crux of this case.鈥�
Christiana Kiefer, an attorney for the cisgender athletes, said two of her clients were still awarded scholarships. But as for whether competing against two transgender athletes played any role in denying scholarships to her other two clients, Kiefer said, 鈥渨e鈥檒l never know.鈥�
Kiefer is a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative group that filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 海角换妻 cisgender athletes. She said the group is considering all legal options, including appeal, because her clients deserve access to what she calls fair competition.
According to , there are about 15.3 million public high school students in the United States. A estimated that 1.8% of them 鈥� about 275,000 鈥� are transgender. But 鈥渢he number of athletes within that group is much smaller; a 2017 survey by Human Rights Campaign suggested fewer than 15% of all transgender boys and transgender girls play sports,鈥� the AP reports.
Kiefer said that 鈥渋t's not a solution to say, 鈥極h, it鈥檚 such a small number.鈥欌��
鈥淚t鈥檚 an increasing number,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 wrong for any female athlete to be denied athletic opportunities Title IX specifically allocated to her.鈥� Title IX is the federal law that allows girls equal educational opportunities and activities that receive federal assistance. However, Kiefer said she did not have statistics to share stating how many female athletes were allegedly being denied athletic opportunities.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, 18 states across the U.S. 鈥� mostly Southern and Western states 鈥� enacted laws or issued rules that ban or limit transgender sports participation.
Kiefer said those states are stepping up to protect women鈥檚 athletics. She also said her lawsuit is not about keeping high school transgender girl athletes from competing in sports.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to clarify that no one is against anyone competing in sports. In fact, we think that everyone has a place in sports. The question is, 鈥榃here鈥檚 it most fair for each person to compete?鈥欌�� she asked. 鈥淚 think there are a number of different creative solutions that athletic associations [and] that school districts can find, whether that鈥檚 making the male category an open category for anyone to compete in 鈥� other national and international sporting bodies have suggested a transgender category. I think there are a lot of different solutions.鈥�
The CIAC argued that its policy is designed to comply with a state law requiring all high school students to be treated according to their gender identity. It also said the policy is in accordance with Title IX.
Bildner, with the ACLU of 海角换妻, said that transgender student-athletes belong on sports teams and in schools and that all transgender youth should be celebrated and protected for who they are.
鈥淭his is the first case to address athletics specifically, but as other courts have held, trans kids 鈥� trans people 鈥� are people. They鈥檙e protected, and Title IX doesn鈥檛 change that,鈥� Bildner said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 allow you, somehow, to discriminate against them.鈥�
海角换妻 Radio's Matt Dwyer contributed to this report.
