A judge decided Thursday night to let five West Virginia middle school girls who were barred from competing in track and field events due to their protests against a transgender competitor last week to return.
A preliminary injunction ordered by Judge Thomas A. Bedell stops the Harrison Board of Education and its schools from disciplining student-athletes for their comments.
The school board refuted claims that the children were the target of retaliation, stating that the pupils were free to demonstrate with the full knowledge and consent of the principal and coaches.
“Those students, like all of the other students on the team, however, were subject to a team rule that any player who scratches in an event cannot participate in that event at the next track meet,” the board stated. “This neutral, school-specific rule was in place before the students’ protests and has nothing to do with those protests in any way. Other than not being permitted to participate in the same event in which they scratched at the next track meet, the students have competed in track meets and events following their protests without restriction.”
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia commended the judge’s ruling in an amicus brief he filed this week in support of the plaintiffs.
“These girls didn’t disrupt anything when they protested. They should be commended, not punished,” Morrisey stated. “We need to teach them that it is noble to stand firm in their beliefs and address their grievances within the protections guaranteed by our Constitution.
“They need not be silent,” he further continued. “They have won by having their voices heard. So glad we were able to weigh in on behalf of these courageous young girls and that they are able to play.”
As a result of their protests against a court decision that blocked the state’s implementation of the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” the middle school girls were not allowed to participate in a shot put track and field event last week, according to the West Virginia Attorney General’s office.
It was against state legislation for transgender girls to play sports against biological girls. However, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and its West Virginia chapter, determined that the statute violated Title IX in a 2-1 decision.
Read Also: Trump’s Testimony Claim Corrected by Judge: No Gag Order in Place
The state’s Save Women’s Sports Act, which was first enacted in 2021, was banned last month by a 2-1 decision from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The middle school-aged trans girl, who has been publicly identifying as a girl since the third grade and has been taking medicine that blocks puberty, cannot legitimately be subject to the statute, the court ruled.
Following the law’s enactment in 2021, the ACLU brought legal action on behalf of transgender athlete Becky Pepper Jackson (B.P.J.), who would have been excluded from the middle school track and field team according to the new prohibition.
Jackson’s attorneys claimed that the statute went against both Title IX provisions and the Fourteenth Amendment.
