Oppose Bans on Transgender Youth in School Sports

I am writing to urge you to oppose any legislation that would ban transgender students from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on January 13, 2026, in cases challenging such bans from Idaho and West Virginia, and I am deeply concerned about the impact these laws have on young people in our community. These bans harm real students like B.P.J., a 15-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia who has publicly identified as a girl since third grade. She has taken puberty blockers to prevent male puberty and hormone therapy with estrogen. Excluding her from girls' teams does not just remove her from athletic opportunity, it stigmatizes and separates her from her peers. This is fundamentally different from the hypothetical scenarios raised during oral arguments about cisgender boys seeking to join girls' teams. The evidence shows that transgender girls who have undergone medical interventions like puberty blockers and hormone therapy do not possess the biological advantages these laws claim to address. As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted during arguments, if a transgender athlete lacks these advantages due to medical treatment, there is no legitimate reason to exclude them from teams matching their gender identity. The blanket categorical bans in Idaho and West Virginia fail to account for individual circumstances and instead rely on stigma rather than science. Justice Brett Kavanaugh observed that half the states currently allow transgender girls and women to participate in sports without constitutional problems. These states demonstrate that inclusion is both possible and fair. Rather than creating sweeping prohibitions that harm vulnerable young people, we should trust schools and athletic associations to develop thoughtful policies that consider individual circumstances. Transgender youth deserve the same opportunities as their peers to build friendships, develop skills, and experience the benefits of athletic participation. I urge you to stand against discriminatory bans and support policies that allow all students to participate in school sports in a manner consistent with their gender identity.