Female athletes and Republican attorneys general held a press conference on Monday to urge the Supreme Court to uphold state laws barring transgender women from women's sports. The cases, West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, could affect regulations in 27 states protecting women's privacy and fairness in competitions. Oral arguments are set for Tuesday morning.
On Monday, the Republican Attorneys General Conference, joined by prominent female athletes including Riley Gaines, convened a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., ahead of pivotal oral arguments in two cases challenging state bans on transgender women competing in women's sports.
The cases—West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox—stem from laws passed in Idaho and West Virginia to separate athletic competitions by biological sex, ensuring fairness and safety for female participants. West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey emphasized the stakes, stating, “The reason that we are here is because Idaho and West Virginia passed common sense laws that delineate the athletic playing fields in our states between the sexes.” He added that the law guarantees “every single woman and girl in West Virginia has a safe and fair playing field” to develop skills through team athletics.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen reinforced the message, declaring, “Women’s rights are under attack by the radical Left. As Republican Attorneys General, we are committed to doing everything we can to protect them. Women and girls should feel safe in the locker rooms and have the opportunity to participate in fair competitions.”
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who gained prominence after competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the University of Pennsylvania, expressed frustration at the ongoing debate. “I’m pissed off that we’ve reached a point where we seemingly have an entire political party who has diminished and erased our rights as women. That’s exactly what this is. Don’t let them frame it any other way,” she said. Gaines clarified that the cases address whether states can maintain sex-based separations, not mandate them. “We are fighting for the bare minimum here,” she noted. “Can we allow ourselves to be vulnerable in an intimate area of undressing such as a locker room without having to fear a man walking into that space? Can we do those things?”
The rulings could impact 27 states' laws on sports participation and extend to protections for women's privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms. Oral arguments begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday and are expected to last several hours.
In West Virginia, the issue has personal ramifications, as illustrated by 17-year-old high school student Adaleia Cross. In eighth grade, Cross lost spots in track-and-field events, including the Mid-Mountain Championship, after a male athlete joined the girls' team. She had been in the top three for discus and top three or four for shot put until April 2023, when the male outperformed her. The athlete displaced 423 girls 1,100 times and claimed 57 medals, Cross recounted. She also endured “sexual, vulgar comments” from the athlete and discomfort sharing a locker room, leading her to forgo track in high school. “No girl should be forced to change in front of a boy or share such intimate spaces with the opposite sex,” she wrote. Cross hopes the Court will affirm biological differences to protect female athletes, echoing Title IX's intent for equal opportunities.
