In 2021, West Virginia joined dozens of other states in banning boys “identifying” as girls from participating in girl’s sports in schools. The family of a 13-year-old boy going by the name of Becky Pepper Johnson sued the state claiming discrimination. This week, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted to overturn the ban and allow “BPJ” to continue competing. This will likely wind up being one more case to toss on the pile awaiting a resolution at the Supreme Court. But any challenge to the ruling may face serious opposition because the appeals court based its finding on a violation of Title IX as currently interpreted by the Biden administration. (Associated Press)
A federal appeals court has overturned a West Virginia transgender sports ban, finding that the law violates Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools.
The ruling Tuesday from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocks a West Virginia law banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams.
The court said the law cannot lawfully be applied to a 13-year-old girl who has been taking puberty-blocking medication and publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade.
The court entertained a number of legal briefs and filings while considering the case, many of which highlight why the situation is so problematic. The court claimed that offering BPJ a choice between competing against boys or not competing “was no real choice at all.” The state did itself no favors when it argued that, “A girl competing on the boys’ team need not be strange or uncomfortable because it is far from a unique occurrence.” That’s problematic because by addressing the student as “a girl” they were giving up half the battle before it began.
This child was pushed into the trans pipeline early, starting to take hormones in the third grade and later being put on puberty blockers. That sounds tragic, but it will probably work in the family’s favor. Some of the states passing bans like this have made exceptions for patients who begin these “treatments” prior to reaching puberty. That way they don’t go through the normal developmental phases that boys typically do.
But the problem here is that not all trans students begin that early. Many don’t start these programs until they are well past puberty and already on their way to developing a typical boy’s physique. So if the ban is lifted entirely, they too will be able to compete against actual girls with an unfair advantage. Unfortunately for female athletes everywhere, the trans activists have been racking up some successful challenges in the courts.
It remains unclear what, if any impact this ruling will have on other cases currently playing out around the country. In Florida, the family of a different boy identifying as a girl is challenging a nearly identical law signed by Ron DeSantis in 2021. The boy had been competing on both the girl’s volleyball and soccer teams. No decision has been rendered in that case yet. Nearly all of the plaintiffs in these cases are being backed by the ACLU and receiving legal assistance from progressive, pro-trans organizations. But none of those groups appear to have any compassion for young girls who are being unfairly robbed of opportunities in the name of the supposed social justice movement. The world truly seems to have been turned on its head.