West Virginia displaces 100 female track athletes for one trans-identifying male.

West Virginia Officials Fight to Reinstate Law Blocking Males from Female Sports Teams

West Virginia officials have taken legal action to reinstate a state law that prohibited males from participating on female sports teams. The move comes after one boy who identified as a girl displaced 100 female track and field athletes, sparking concerns about fairness and opportunities for female athletes.

On Tuesday, attorneys for the state of West Virginia and the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, urging the court to suspend an injunction that has partially blocked the law. The law aims to restrict athletic team participation based on biological sex.

“When you ignore biological reality and allow males to compete on girls’ sports teams, girls are harmed and denied athletic opportunities — even in middle school,” said ADF Senior Counsel Christiana Kiefer. “This male athlete’s athletic success demonstrates that the injunction against West Virginia’s women’s sports law is undeniably causing multiple girls to suffer, and we urge the 4th Circuit to take immediate action and restore a fair playing field for female athletes.”

The motion was prompted by an injunction placed against the law in 2021 after a 12-year-old male, Becky Pepper-Jackson, who identifies as female, and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state, arguing that the law violated the 14th Amendment.

In April, the Supreme Court declined to review the case, stating that the state had not provided sufficient evidence of harm that could result from blocking the law during litigation.

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However, the new motion from West Virginia and ADF argues that harm has indeed occurred. It states that Pepper-Jackson has defeated 100 different girls, displacing them 280 times, and that two girls have been unable to compete in championship shot put and discus competitions.

“The results from the recent spring track-and-field season speak for themselves: [The male athlete] is displacing girls out of top spots in competition and off of coveted roster spots at championship and other meets. This undeniable, quantitative evidence constitutes a significant change that makes it inequitable to leave the injunction in place because it will injure yet more girls in the fall season,” the motion argues.

In a powerful op-ed published in May, West Virginia middle schooler Taylor Allen expressed her support for the law to be enforced. She emphasized the importance of preserving fair competition and protecting the dreams of female athletes.

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