Supreme Court trans sports ruling sparks red state crackdown and blue state resistance

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing states to ban transgender girls and women from sports aligned with their gender identity has sent red states rushing to kick queer athletes off the field. Meanwhile, progressive leaders in LGBTQ-friendly states are promising protections, particularly for young people.As The Advocate reported on Tuesday, the decision came in two cases, West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, involving transgender athletes Becky Pepper-Jackson and Lindsay Hecox. The court ruled that the bans in West Virginia and Idaho do not violate Title IX or the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, handing Republican-led states a major victory in their yearslong campaign to restrict transgender students’ participation in school sports.Arizona State Superintendent Tom Horne immediately urged courts there to lift an injunction blocking enforcement of the Grand Canyon State’s sports ban.Related: What the Supreme Court did not decide in the trans sports case“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. 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 said in a statement.“Girls have also been injured, including a brain injury, from having to compete against larger and stronger males. I am committed to making sure that Arizona schools follow state law protecting girl sports.”But Illinois leaders made clear that the state will continue allowing transgender students to compete in school sports consistent with their gender identity.“In Illinois, transgender students have the right to fully participate in school activities, including sports,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement provided to WBEZ Chicago. “Nothing in today’s opinion prohibits states like Illinois from allowing stud