SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
This week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments from two separate cases weighing the rights of transgender athletes. Little v. Hecox challenges Idaho's ban on trans athletes playing on women's and girls' sports teams. West Virginia v. B.P.J. challenges a similar ban in West Virginia. Kate Sosin covers LGBTQ issues for the nonprofit newsroom The 19th and has been following these cases closely. They're here to give us a preview. Welcome.
KATE SOSIN: Thanks for having me.
MCCAMMON: So, in essence, what are these two cases about?
SOSIN: So conservatives have increasingly argued that transgender women and girls have an unfair advantage in sports, that their hormone levels make them stronger and faster, and for that reason, they say, trans women should be banned from competition. These two girls, Lindsay Hecox and Becky Pepper-Jackson, were banned from playing sports in their respective states by these state bans, and 27 states have these bans. And now the question is, will the Supreme Court back these bans and find that they are constitutional or not?
MCCAMMON: Yeah. You just said more than two dozen states have laws like this. So why these two cases? How did they make their way to the Supreme Court?
SOSIN: So Lindsay Hecox is a student at Boise State University. She tried out for her track and field team, and she didn't even make the team. She was on a club team. And she was banned from that when the state passed its ban. And so she sued saying, this is clearly not fair. She was not taking the spot of anybody. And Becky Pepper-Jackson is also an interesting case because she's a 15-year-old West Virginia student who transitioned before ever undergoing male puberty. So her state ban banned her, and they're saying it's so clear that she doesn't have an unfair advantage.
MCCAMMON: Isn't one of the concerns not just about taking spots on teams, but also a competitive advantage against their opponents, a potential advantage?
SOSIN: Certainly, yes. But what we found is that the research just simply doesn't back this up. And in part because there is limited research. There's a 2021 study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine that found no basis in existing research for banning trans women from sports. And a 2021 study funded by the International Olympic Committee, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, concluded that transgender women likely had several physical disadvantages compared with their cisgender peers. And this is after medical transition. So there's very limited research, but the research that exists just doesn't support banning transgender women or girls at this point.
MCCAMMON: Now, these are not the first cases before the Supreme Court that have involved transgender issues. Based on what we've seen from the court before, what are you expecting to happen at this week's arguments?
SOSIN: You know, last June, the court ruled against transgender youth in the Skrmetti decision. It was a 6-3 decision against transgender youth getting access to gender-affirming care in that case. And based on that, a lot of advocates are expecting a similar 6-3 ruling against transgender athletes. And that likely kicks us to a situation that we're looking at, like Roe, where it goes back to states, and states continue to ban trans athletes on a state-by-state basis. And states that were friendly to trans people continue to be friendly to them, and states that were banning trans people continue to ban them.
You know, the rest of the country will remain as it is, but I think the bigger implication that we would see is that having your Supreme Court come back and tell you again and again and again that your rights matter less than everybody else's is a really damaging thing for a lot of transgender individuals. We're seeing a slow chipping away of transgender dignity, equality and also the law, very, very slowly.
MCCAMMON: And I wonder if you can just put this in context for us. I mean, who's affected by these laws? How many people are we talking about? And what is the impact?
SOSIN: Yeah. It's not known how many trans athletes are competing in grade schools, college or even professional sports, but advocates have insisted that they represent a tiny fraction of competitors. NCAA President Charlie Baker in 2024 stated that out of 500,000 college athletes in the country, openly trans people accounted for less than 10 athletes. So we're talking about probably a handful of women and girls.
MCCAMMON: And what does it mean for these athletes to be told they can't participate?
SOSIN: You know, especially in grade schools or even college athletics, these are kids who are trying to join and be part of their extracurricular activities. They're not necessarily out to win a competition. You know, we have cases of transgender people where they come in fifth, and that is still seen as a negative thing. Transgender people have a right to exist and to live, and transgender women have competed in sports for decades. We're just now addressing the reality of it.
MCCAMMON: That was journalist Kate Sosin. Thank you so much for your reporting.
SOSIN: Thank you for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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