The ban in West Virginia was originally signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice in 2021, and introduced as the “Save Women’s Sports Act.” It required that any official or unofficial school-sanctioned event involving athletics determine each athlete’s participation in the event “based on the athlete’s biological sex as indicated on the athlete’s original birth certificate issued at the time of birth,” effectively barring transgender students from participating.

The ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law cannot lawfully be applied to a 13-year-old girl who has been taking puberty-blocking medication and publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade.

In February 2023, the court blocked the state’s bid to kick Becky Pepper Jackson off of her middle school track and field team if the law were enforced.

Judge Toby Heytens wrote that offering her a “choice” between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams “is no real choice at all.”

“The defendants cannot expect that B.P.J. will countermand her social transition, her medical treatment, and all the work she has done with her schools, teachers, and coaches for nearly half her life by introducing herself to teammates, coaches, and even opponents as a boy,” Heytens wrote.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in conjunction with LGBTQ interest group Lambda Legal, filed the original lawsuit in 2021. Members of the ACLU who were involved in the case celebrated the ruling.

“This is a tremendous victory for our client, transgender West Virginians, and the freedom of all youth to play as who they are,” ACLU West Virginia attorney Joshua Block said in a statement. “It also continues a string of federal courts ruling against bans on the participation of transgender athletes and in favor of their equal participation as the gender they know themselves to be. This case is fundamentally about the equality of transgender youth in our schools and our communities and we’re thankful the Fourth Circuit agreed.”

In finding that the law violates Title IX when applied to the girl, the court noted that she has been publicly living as a girl for more than five years and changed her name, and the state of West Virginia has issued her a birth certificate listing her as female. The court said she takes puberty blocking medication and also takes estrogen hormone therapy. Starting in elementary school, she has participated only on girls’ athletic teams.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said he was “deeply disappointed” in the court’s ruling and vowed that he “will keep fighting to safeguard Title IX” and asserted that “We know the law is correct and will use every available tool to defend it.”

West Virginia is one of about 24 states that have enacted legislation to protect female athletes from having to compete against physically stronger biological males. These include Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina, Kansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Idaho, Utah, Florida, and Missouri. In Arizona, Idaho, and Utah, these laws are being challenged in the courts, which have placed temporary holds on enforcing the legislation.

This is the latest development in the broader debate over transgender athletes. Those opposing allowing men to participate in women’s sports point out that not only do they enjoy unfair advantages, but they also place female athletes in danger. Nevertheless, folks on the hard left have disregarded the safety of female athletes and insist that biological males should still be allowed to compete in women’s sports.