US Supreme Court upholds bans on transgender athletes in women's school sports

By FRANCE 24 - RFI

United States Demonstrators carry a transgender flags outside the US Supreme Court, on the day justices are expected to hear oral arguments in two cases concerning efforts to enforce Republican-backed state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools, in Washington, DC, US, January 13, 2026. - Kevin Lamarque, Reuters

TUE, 30 JUN 2026

Demonstrators carry a transgender flags outside the US Supreme Court, on the day justices are expected to hear oral arguments in two cases concerning efforts to enforce Republican-backed state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools, in Washington, DC, US, January 13, 2026. - © Kevin Lamarque, Reuters

The US Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday for states to impose restrictions on transgender student athletes, upholding laws in Idaho and West Virginia banning them from women's sports teams.

The justices overturned decisions by lower courts siding with transgender students who challenged the bans in the two states as violating the US Constitution and a federal anti-discrimination law.

The Idaho and West Virginia laws designate sports teams at public schools including universities according to "biological sex" and bar "students of the male sex" from female teams. Twenty-five other states have similar laws on the books.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)