US Supreme Court Upholds Laws Banning Transgender Athletes in Women's College Sports
Supreme Court of the United States.
Evelyn Hockstein / Reuters
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled this Tuesday (30) that states can ban the participation of transgender girls and women in women's school and college sports.
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The court, which has a conservative majority, found that the state bans in Idaho and West Virginia do not violate the Constitution or the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sexual discrimination in education. As a result, decisions by lower courts that had ruled in favor of transgender students who challenged these bans fell.
Conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh, rapporteur of the court's analysis, wrote that "states can keep women's and girls' sports reserved for people of the female biological sex."
The decision was unanimous, by nine votes to zero. In other words, even the three liberal judges voted along with their conservative colleagues.
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More than two dozen other states governed by Republicans have approved similar bans on transgender athletes in women's competitions. Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling therefore also extends to those laws.
The ruling, however, leaves unresolved lawsuits challenging state laws and regulations in Connecticut, California and elsewhere that allow transgender athletes to compete in competitions consistent with their gender identity.
Victory for Trump and culture war
US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally to kick off the Great American State Fair in celebration of the 250th anniversary of US independence, on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., USA, June 24, 2026.
Reuters/Evan Vucci
The decision is a victory for US President Donald Trump, who advocates for a total ban and, in 2025, signed a decree to ban the participation of transgender athletes in female sporting events in schools and colleges.
The discussion also has an ideological background for influence of a conservatism that has influenced Trump's public policies since he returned to the White House in early 2025.
Trump's policies and pressures have also influenced other governments and bodies on this issue. Months after the US president's decree, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee also banned trans women from women's competitions.
Source: G1