Lawsuit over Idaho transgender athlete ban likely to proceed

BOISE, IDAHO
After both sides reached an agreement that the woman who sued Idaho for banning transgender athletes from women’s sports was enrolled at Boise State University, and is competing in school athletics, a federal lawsuit against Idaho will likely proceed.

In 2020, Idaho became the first nation state to ban transgender girls and women from participating in women’s athletic teams sponsored by public schools and colleges. Many GOP-led states followed the lead, and Lindsay Hecox’s lawsuit could be a precedent in determining whether such policies are contrary to federal anti-discrimination laws.

Hecox had hoped to run as a candidate for Boise State University. Hecox was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union (and Legal Voice), and the women’s rights group Legal Voice. Boise High School athlete and not transgender, is also a plaintiff in this case. She fears that the law could make her undergo invasive testing to prove her biological gender if she is questioned.

Hecox, along with the other plaintiff, isn’t named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, argue that the law violates Section 14’s Equal Protection Clause. They claim it discriminates and violates the Fourth Amendment’s privacy protections.

While the lawsuit is being decided, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law from entering effect.

Last year, however, the case was stalled when Hecox resigned from Boise State University following his failure to qualify for the cross country team. The state’s attorneys saidThe case was dismissed, but Hecox’s lawyers won it. saidShe intended to reenroll and attempt again for track. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals remanded it to a federal Idaho judge to determine if the case is still relevant.

Both sides filed a settlement with Idaho’s federal courts on Wednesday. The agreement stated that Hecox is currently at BSU and has joined the BSU Women’s Club Soccer program. Hecox also stated that she will be applying for the university’s Cross-Country team in the fall. The case is not moot because the ban in Idaho also applies to university clubs sports. saidJulie Veroff, one Hecox’s lawyers.

A decision by the federal appellate court in this case could come quickly as it has been thoroughly argued before a panel judges of circuit and was only bounced back into Idaho to determine the mootness.

Veroff: “Once the (Idaho district) court makes that determination, it is presumably the case will go right back to the nineth.” said.

The Idaho Attorney General’s office declined comment.

The advocates of the bans argue that allowing transgender women and girls to join women’s teams would undermine progress women have made since 1972 when federal legislation was passed opening sports to women athletes. Opponents have pointed to Title IX civil rights law, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

While the issue of whether transgender athletes are unfairly advantaged over cisgender competitors remains a new topic in U.S. courts. However, similar cases are currently being tried in West Virginia and Florida. Hecox’s decision could become the legal precedent for other states in 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals includes Montana which passed its own ban on transgender athletes in the last year.

The West Virginia case saw a federal judge temporarily block a ban against transgender athletes after ACLU sued the ACLU on behalf of a transgender girl aged 11. She wanted to be a cross-country athlete for her school. A trial in this case is set for July.

Florida’s case was brought to you by a transgender middle-school girl. saidThe ban is in violation of Title IX. The case was put on hold by a federal judge earlier in the year, until a federal appeals court decides in a Florida case brought to it by a transgender student who was banned from using boys’ bathrooms at Florida high schools.

The NCAA, which oversees intercollegiate athletics, has changed its policy regarding transgender athletes in the past year. The NCAA has been governing intercollegiate sports for more than a decade. saidAfter undergoing one year of hormone therapy, transgender women athletes can participate in women’s athletics. In January, the new rule stated that each sport’s national governing body will establish its own policy regarding transgender student athletes.