WATCH: Advocacy groups react to transgender athletes ruling

By Esther Wickham
The Center Square

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that upheld the constitutionality of barring transgender athletes from competing in female sports, various advocacy groups and elected officials reacted Tuesday. They were sharply divided.

In a 6-3 decision, justices on Tuesday ruled that the states’ laws banning transgender athletes in women’s and girls’ school sports do not violate Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. The decision, in which the court upheld bans in Idaho and West Virginia, leaves it up to states to decide whether to permit transgender athletes on female teams.

Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Title IX permits schools to maintain separate athletic teams based on biological sex.

“Title IX allows schools to provide separate women’s and men’s sports teams defined by biological sex, and West Virginia has permissibly maintained female sports for biological females consistent with Title IX,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Supporters of the ruling called it a victory for women’s athletics.

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, who helped sponsor Arizona’s Save Women’s Sports Act, called the Supreme Court ruling “a win for common sense and, more importantly, a win for girls.”

“Every young woman deserves the opportunity to compete on a level playing field and earn a roster spot, a championship, a record, or a scholarship based on her hard work,” said Petersen, R-Gilbert, who attended oral arguments in the case at the Supreme Court. The Arizona legislation that he co-sponsored was signed into law in 2022 and banned transgender athletes on female teams.

“Girls shouldn’t have to lose those opportunities because adults are afraid to acknowledge biological reality,” Petersen said.

When the case came to the Supreme Court, the Republican majority in the Arizona Legislature filed amicus briefs in support of the bans in Idaho and West Virginia.

On Tuesday, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne joined Petersen in praising the Supreme Court decision. Horne argued it protects girls from competing against athletes who were born male.

“The news has been full of stories about girls who worked hard on their sports, hoping to make the team, or even earn a college scholarship or qualify for the Olympics,” Horne, a Republican, said. “But then they had to compete against biological boys and their advantages in birth in size, speed and strength. The girls’ dreams were shattered and they were devastated.“

Horne highlighted that girls have been injured from competing against larger and stronger biological males and that “the fight is over,” as Arizona will follow state law and protect girls’ sports.

The California Family Council, a conservative nonprofit and major advocacy group that continues to protest against California policies on transgender athletes, celebrated the Supreme Court ruling but emphasized that the fight is not over in the Golden State and other parts of the nation.

“We celebrate today’s Supreme Court decision, even though it does not change California law,” Sophia Lorey, CFC outreach director, told The Center Square.

“This ruling gives us momentum, not closure,” Lorey added. “We believe it will also accelerate the federal cases already moving against California over girls’ sports, and we intend to use every bit of that pressure. We celebrate today. The fight is not over. We will not stop until girls’ sports are protected for every girl, in every state, including California.”

However, California lawmakers and officials are disappointed with Tuesday’s ruling.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said it is reviewing the ruling and evaluating its impact on California schools and the state’s ongoing litigation with the Trump administration over transgender students’ participation in school sports.

“We are disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision,” the Democratic attorney general’s press office told The Center Square.

California Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-Milpitas, said the ruling means “another win in the political culture wars for President Trump because there’s not a single day in the White House that President Trump doesn’t blame oil prices, inflation or any bad thing that he has caused on the transgender community or transgender individuals.”

“This is a blow to equal rights,” Lee told The Center Square at the Capitol in Sacramento. “We really want to make sure that kids are able to participate in sports. That is the important crux of it. All people of all genders ought to participate in sports. It’s team bonding, athleticism. This is about further subjecting people to oppression and further stigmatizing them.”

The Center Square also reached out to Republican legislators in Sacramento but was not able to get interviews before publication time.

On the other side of the country, Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, called the ruling “a victory for common sense, for fairness, and for every girl who has worked hard to earn her place on the field, the court, or the podium.”

Civil rights and LGBTQ advocacy organizations condemned the decision, arguing it undermines protections for transgender athletes.

Advocates for Trans Equality called the ruling “a devastating departure from decades of civil rights progress.”

Chief Strategic Programs Officer Anya Marino said the decision threatens “the rights, dignity, and safety of trans people across the country” and warned it could encourage invasive sex-verification practices affecting both transgender and cisgender female athletes.

“No court decision can erase trans people or extinguish the movement for equality and dignity,” Marino added in a statement sent to The Center Square. “The Supreme Court doesn’t have the final say on this. Many states and schools do support their transgender athletes, with inclusive policies that have been working for decades. Those policies remain intact despite today’s ruling.”

Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, CEO of Glisten, a human rights organization, also criticized the decision, saying it limits transgender students’ ability to fully participate in school life.

“School sports are much more than competition,” Willingham-Jaggers said. “They are about belonging, forming a community, and the opportunity to grow and thrive alongside peers.”

The core issue is about protecting the dignity and safety of transgender youth and urging policymakers to support them through inclusive policies and legal action, Willingham-Jaggers added.

Center Square staff reporter Madeline Shannon contributed to this story.