Teens at the heart of the fight for transgender athlete rights
04:45
– Source:
CNN
A federal appeals court on Friday dismissed a case brought by four cisgender Connecticut high school girls who claimed the state’s trans-inclusive sports policy violated their civil rights and deprived them of a “chance to be champions.”
The lawsuit, filed in 2020, has been seized in recent years by lawmakers and state governors pushing anti-trans sports bans, with Republicans citing the claims made by plaintiffs as they sought to ban transgender girls and women from competing on teams that match their identity. of gender.
A federal district judge dismissed the case in April 2021, saying the girls’ request to block the policy was moot because the two trans athletes named in the suit graduated in 2020 and there was “no indication” that the plaintiffs would compete again against trans. state athletes. The district court also said the plaintiffs lacked the procedural limit – known as permanent – needed to bring the case.
In its Friday ruling, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision, writing in a 29-page scathing decision that the plaintiffs’ contention that the policy of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference put them at a competitive disadvantage was unfounded.
“All four plaintiffs competed regularly in state track and field championships as high school athletes, where plaintiffs had the opportunity to compete for state titles in different events. And, on numerous occasions, the plaintiffs were indeed ‘champions’, finishing first in multiple events, sometimes even competing against (Andraya) Yearwood and (Terry) Miller,” the ruling reads, referring to the two transgender athletes. , who later joined the process to defend CIAC policy.
“The plaintiffs were simply not deprived of a ‘chance to be champions,'” the panel wrote.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative non-profit organization representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement following the ruling that it was “evaluating all legal options, including appeal.”
“Our clients – like all athletes – deserve access to fair competition,” said Christiana Kiefer, senior advisor to the group, in the statement. “Every woman deserves the respect and dignity of having equal opportunities to excel and win in athletics, and the ADF remains committed to protecting the future of women’s sports.”
The plaintiffs argued that CIAC’s policy is a violation of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. The policy, they said in the lawsuit, results in “boys substituting for girls in competitive Connecticut events.”
But the court disagreed with the plaintiffs’ Title IX claim, citing, among other things, a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that said federal civil rights law protects LGBTQ workers.
“Title IX includes language identical to Title VII, broadly prohibiting discrimination ‘on the basis of sex,'” they wrote. “Therefore, it cannot be said that the policy – which prohibits discrimination based on a student’s transgender status by allowing all students to participate in gender-specific teams consistent with their gender identity – ‘falls within the scope of the Title IX.’”
While conservatives pushing bans on anti-trans sports have argued that transgender women and girls have physical advantages over cisgender women and girls in sports, a 2017 report found “no direct or consistent research” on such an advantage.
