Transgender athlete JayCee Cooper has won a two-year-long legal battle against USA Powerlifting’s trans-exclusionary policy. The Minnesota District Court has ordered the sporting body to “cease and desist from all unfair discriminatory practices” and reverse its ban on trans athletes within two weeks.
Cooper’s legal complaint accused USA Powerlifting (USAPL) of violating the Minnesota Human Rights Act by upholding a policy that prevented transgender men and women from participating in elite competitions. The judge ruled that USAPL’s policy had discriminated against Cooper and other trans competitors, denying them “the full and equal enjoyment of services, support, and facilities the USAPL offered its members.”
The ruling in JayCee Cooper’s case is a rare victory for trans athletes in competitive sports. It challenges the blanket restrictions on trans women’s testosterone levels and calls for individual sports to set their own rules. The International Olympics Committee’s recent announcement also dropped blanket restrictions on testosterone levels in trans women. Instead, they allowed individual sports to set their own rules, leading to a ban on trans women from women’s competitions in several sports.
The implementation of these policies has sparked backlash from trans athletes and activists, who point out the lack of robust research in the area. Harvard University trans swimmer Schuyler Bailar expressed his uncertainty regarding the research that Fina, the elite swimming governing body, was using to justify its ban on trans women who hadn’t experienced male puberty after the age of 12.
Trans athletes across the country deserve equal rights and protections, just like everyone else. JayCee Cooper’s win highlights the need for greater inclusion and diversity in sports. USA Powerlifting has announced that it will consider an appeal, but the ruling will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the future of trans athletes in competitive sports.