(ZENIT News / Washington, 06.30.2026).- In a sweeping victory for women and girls, the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday upheld West Virginia’s and Idaho’s women’s sports laws, which ensure that males cannot compete in women’s sports. The win for biological reality empowers states across the country to enact and enforce similar laws protecting female athletes.
In State of West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey and Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, together with attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom, asked the high court to allow them to enforce their laws protecting women’s sports. The court ruled 9-0 that Title IX—a federal law that ensures equal opportunities for women in education—and 6-3 that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment allow states to protect female athletes through sex-specific sports.
“This is a victory for every girl who refused to stay quiet in the face of injustice. Men cannot be women, and no drug erases the male athletic advantage. I’m grateful to Attorneys General Raúl Labrador and JB McCuskey and our clients for their courage,” said ADF CEO, President, and Chief Counsel Kristen Waggoner. “Policies that ignore biological truth hurt people. In West Virginia, the male plaintiff defeated more than 470 girls over 1,400 times, won the women’s state championship in shot put, and sexually harassed our client Adaleia Cross in the girls’ locker room. Adaleia’s story is not unique. After today’s decision, the 23 states still on the sidelines have run out of excuses. Protect women’s sports. Our girls have waited long enough.”
“This is a monumental victory for every female athlete who has ever competed, or dreamed of competing, on a fair and safe playing field,” McCuskey explained. “Today’s decision affirms what common sense and the law have long made clear: States have the right to designate sports teams based on biological sex, not gender identity. Without that delineation, Title IX is turned on its head, and decades of hard-fought progress to advance female athletes is erased. I am immensely proud of my team for not only getting this issue before the Supreme Court but for delivering sound and successful arguments. This landmark victory will give all states, not just West Virginia, the clarity and confidence to ensure fairness and safety for female athletes today and for generations to come.”
“This decision is a victory for common sense, fairness, and the countless girls and women who dedicate themselves to athletics,” added Labrador. “Idaho led the nation by becoming the first state to protect women’s sports, and I’ve never wavered in defending that law. The Supreme Court has now confirmed that states can preserve fair competition and protect the opportunities that generations of women fought to secure. Every parent can rest assured that our law protects their daughters competing in Idaho.”
“The question before the Court is: Under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, may schools maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females? In other words, may schools determine eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex? The answer is yes…,” the Supreme Court wrote in its opinion. “Separate sports teams for biological males and biological females are reasonable: Given the inherent physical differences between the sexes, allowing only biological females to play on women’s and girls’ teams can reduce the risk of physical injury and ensure fair competition.”
In State of West Virginia v. B.P.J., McCuskey, supported by ADF attorneys who serve as co-counsel and also as counsel to former college soccer player Lainey Armistead, asked the Supreme Court to hear their case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled against West Virginia’s law protecting fairness in women’s sports. In Little v. Hecox, Labrador, also supported by ADF attorneys, asked the high court to uphold his state’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit stopped the law from going into effect.
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