A group of female high school track athletes is appealing a Sunday federal district decision forcing them to compete against transgender athletes.
The case was dismissed by Judge Robert Chatigny on procedural grounds because the two transgender athletes in question have since graduated from high school, making the case moot. Chatigny wrote, however, that if more transgender students should enter the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, he could see a reason to bring back the case.
“Defendants’ counsel have represented that they know of no transgender student who will be participating in girls’ track at that time,” he wrote. “It is still theoretically possible that a transgender student could attempt to do so.”
Chatigny added that for the case to become live again, future transgender athletes would have to be top achievers in track, as the first two were. The case centered on whether it was fair for biologically male athletes to compete against biologically female athletes. The female track stars had argued that the difference in body types put them at an insurmountable disadvantage.
CONNECTICUT FEDERAL COURT WEIGHS DISMISSAL OF TITLE IX TRANSGENDER SPORTS CASE
Chatigny signaled during the case’s arguments that he would likely dismiss the claims.
Following the decision, attorneys at the Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal nonprofit organization representing the female athletes, said they plan to push back on the ruling.
“Competition is no longer fair when males are permitted to compete in girls’ sports,” said Christiana Holcomb, a legal counsel for ADF. “Males will always have inherent physical advantages over comparably talented and trained girls; that’s the reason we have girls’ sports in the first place.”
The lawsuit drew national attention last year when then-Attorney General William Barr filed a statement of interest in the case, supporting the female athletes. The Biden administration in February removed that support. The new administration also stopped enforcing action against the CIAC and other member schools that the female athletes had claimed were in violation of Title IX, which protects people against discrimination based on gender in federally funded schools.
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Transgender competition in sports has become an increasingly fraught issue with many conservatives, as well as a litmus test for Republican leadership. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem in March faced backlash when she backed off a bill banning transgender participation in female sports.
