Trans People Must Be Allowed In Women’s Sports, MN Supreme Court Rules

ST. PAUL, MN — The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that USA Powerlifting broke state law when it banned transgender-identifying people from competing in women’s events.

The court said the organization’s policy, which stated that "trans women couldn’t compete in the women’s division” and that "we do not allow male-to-female transgender athletes at all," was not legal under state law.

The justices said that kind of ban violates the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which protects people from discrimination in public places such as gyms and sporting events.

"The Legislature did not make a legitimate business purpose a defense to public accommodation claims," the court wrote.

The ruling means that transgender-identifying athletes in Minnesota have the right to compete in sports without being excluded because of their gender identity.

“This ruling sends a clear and powerful message: transgender people have a right to enjoy public spaces in Minnesota like sporting events, restaurants, and movie theaters, free from targeted discrimination,” said Jess Braverman, legal director at Gender Justice, which represented powerlifter JayCee Cooper.

The Minnesota Senate Queer Caucus called the ruling a “historic victory,” saying it “affirms the simple but fundamental right that trans Minnesotans can live their lives without discrimination in public spaces and accommodations — including in sports.”

But others criticized the decision. True North Legal, a conservative Minnesota legal group, said the court’s ruling “defies science and common sense.”

“Allowing males to compete in women’s sports spells the end of women’s sports. It only takes one male athlete to change the entire playing field, a commonsense fact that the legislature understood when it enacted a law expressly allowing sex-based athletic teams,” said Renee Carlson, general counsel for True North Legal.

“Today, the Court has flipped that statute on its head, defying science and common sense, but even worse, disregarding legal protections for women and girls across the state.”

Doug Wardlow, the group’s director of litigation, said the decision’s broader impact is limited. “The Court’s ruling unjustly punishes USA Powerlifting for its common-sense practice of separating men and women in powerlifting competitions — a practice designed to protect athletic opportunities for women,” Wardlow said. “That said, the broader impact of the ruling is limited. The Court left open several legal avenues to defend sex separation in sports. In addition, the decision does not affect public-school sports, where Title IX bars males from playing on female teams.”