Washington DC [US], July 1 (HBTV): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday welcomed the US Supreme Court's decision upholding state laws that bar transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports, calling the ruling a 'big win'.
Reacting to the judgement on Truth Social, Trump wrote, 'BIG WIN: The United States Supreme Court just RULED AGAINST MEN PLAYING IN WOMEN'S SPORTS.'
'Wow! That takes that ridiculous situation off the table!!!' he added.
The ruling upheld laws enacted in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibit transgender athletes from participating in women's and girls' sports, finding that Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education, permits schools to maintain separate sports teams based on biological sex.
According to Politico, the court's conservative majority also rejected arguments that the laws violate the constitutional rights of transgender people, marking a significant decision in the ongoing legal debate over transgender participation in school athletics.
Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, 'The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women's and girls' sports throughout America.'
The court was hearing challenges to laws passed by Idaho and West Virginia, which argued that the measures were intended to protect athletes assigned female at birth from physical disadvantages arising from biological differences between males and females. The states also maintained that Title IX applies on the basis of biological sex and that the laws do not discriminate against transgender women and girls, Politico reported.
The court's liberal justices agreed that Title IX does not explicitly grant transgender athletes the right to compete according to their gender identity but dissented on the constitutional analysis.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the court's liberal wing, argued that states should have been required to justify such restrictions for specific sports and categories of transgender athletes rather than being allowed to impose broad bans.
'To the majority, the fit here is simply good enough,' Sotomayor wrote, accusing the court of relying on 'overbroad generalisations' instead of allowing lower courts to conduct a more detailed review, according to Politico.
Politico reported that more than two dozen US states have enacted similar laws restricting transgender participation in women's sports. The ruling is also expected to strengthen the Trump administration's efforts to challenge transgender-inclusive policies in schools.
The report noted that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) had already barred transgender athletes from competing in women's sports following an executive order signed by Trump earlier this year.
The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee have also adopted policies restricting transgender participation in women's sports.
Justice Kavanaugh clarified that the ruling does not address whether federal law permits schools to voluntarily allow transgender girls to compete on girls' sports teams.
'That question is currently the subject of litigation in some lower courts... Nothing in this opinion is intended to decide that question,' he wrote.
The decision is expected to have its most immediate impact on K-12 school sports across the United States, where legal and political debates over transgender athletes' participation continue. (ANI)