Our hope is that you’ll help us co-create a future where female athletes enjoy the female-only sports and intimate spaces we all deserve.
Lawsuits often spark change. Exhibit A: The U.K. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision that, for legal purposes, “woman” and “sex” refer to female people, and sex is binary. From now on, throughout the United Kingdom, female sports, restrooms, prisons, rape crisis centers, and lesbian-only spaces (which have increasingly been invaded by “chicks with dicks,” believe it or not), will legally be reserved for females — a huge win for 50 percent of the population.
Because these lawsuits might spark change too, we thought you might be interested in these recent U.S.-based lawsuits related to trans-identified male athletes in women’s sports:
Complaints by female athletes about male athletes in their sports and spaces; followed by:
Complaints by male athletes who want access to female sports and locker rooms.
Lawsuits by Female Athletes and Coaches Claiming Title IX, Equal Protection, and Other Legal Violations
“We know the outcome before the race even starts. Biological unfairness doesn’t go away because of what someone believes about gender identity.”
— Alanna Smith, Connecticut runner
September 2025, SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases in the fall 2025 term:
UPDATE, September 2, 2025: Lindsay Hecox withdrew from the case and asked the Supreme Court to dismiss it. This is unusual, almost unheard of. Update, January 4, 2026: The Court will hear the oral arguments on January 13, and then decide whether to consider the case moot.
An Idaho case (Little v. Hecox) involving a male, trans-identified student at Boise State University who challenged HB 500, an Idaho law barring participation by trans-identified male athletes in women’s sports:
“Madison Kenyon and Mary Kate Marshall were both collegiate athletes on Idaho State University’s track and cross-country teams. Since early childhood, both women have pursued the life-defining passion of athletic training and competition. But in 2019, both Madison and Mary Kate had the deflating experience of running against and losing to a male athlete, being bumped down a placement level because of that athlete’s participation. To keep other female athletes from facing unfair competitions like these, the state of Idaho enacted the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act in March 2020. Weeks later, the ACLU challenged this commonsense law, but Madison and Mary Kate stepped in to defend the law to ensure that women have a chance to compete and win in their own sports. After an unfavorable ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Alliance Defending Freedom is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Idaho’s law and protect fairness in women’s sports;
A West Virginia case (B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education) involving a child, B.P.J., whose parent sued on his behalf, arguing that the State must allow biological boys who identify as girls to compete on girls’ teams:
“In 2021, West Virginia passed the Save Women’s Sports Act, which ensures equal opportunities for women and girls in sports and protects their safety by making sure they are not forced to compete against males. The law was challenged in court by the ACLU, and Alliance Defending Freedom intervened in the lawsuit on behalf of Lainey Armistead, a former collegiate athlete who played soccer at West Virginia State University. Although a federal district court ruled in favor of the West Virginia law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit overturned the district court’s protection of fairness in women’s sports. ADF is now asking the Supreme Court to reverse the 4th Circuit’s decision and make it clear that West Virginia’s law should be enforced and that Title IX’s promise of protecting equal opportunities for women and girls in sports must be upheld.”
September 2025, CALIFORNIA
Three high school athletes filed suit charging Jurupa Valley High School with violating students’ Title IX and civil rights by allowing a male athlete, unnamed but presumed to be AB Hernandez, to compete in girls' sports. The suit also names the California State Department of Education as a defendant and accuses the athlete of sexual harassment. Hernandez won two gold medals and one silver at the state track and field finals in the spring of 2025, and joined the volleyball team that fall. Six schools so far have forfeited volleyball matches in protest.
September 2025, NEW YORK AND VERMONT
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that girls at the Mid-Vermont Christian School can play state-sponsored sports again — after a two-year ban. The girls had been restricted after the school's girls' basketball team forfeited a game against a team due to a male student on their roster. The Vermont Principals' Association had contended at the time, “It is a myth that transgender students endanger others… or create unfair competition.”
“I’m hopeful that other schools will recognize that Mid Vermont Christian had a right to follow its religious convictions,” said Jake Reed of Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Mid Vermont Christian in the case.
June 2025, FEDERAL
Two members of the USA Fencing board of directors are suing the other six members, alleging chair Damien Lehfeldt made “false and misleading claims” to Congress at a May 7 Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee hearing on female and trans-identified male athletes, thus jeopardizing USA Fencing’s National Governing Body status.
May 2025, COLORADO
Complaint argues that Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser; the Colorado Civil Rights Division; and the Colorado High School Activities Association violate the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which bans discrimination based on sex, by allowing boys to join girls’ teams. It also argues that “girls’ and boys’ privacy rights under the Equal Protection clause would be violated if they had to share locker rooms with [opposite-sex] transgender athletes.”
May 2025, MINNESOTA
Three Minnesota high school softball players sued Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minnesota State High School League executive director Erich Martens; and others over a male player permitted to play on the girls’ team. Female Athletes United, an organization representing three players from two high schools, alleges that a decade-old Minnesota policy allowing males to compete on female teams has created an unsafe and unfair environment for Maple Grove High and Farmington High players.
“Metro softball players sue Ellison, MSHSL director over transgender athlete participation,” Twin Cities Pioneer Press
“Minnesota softball players sue Keith Ellison, state high school league over transgender athlete policy,” Minneapolis Star Tribune.
See also preemptive lawsuit by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in second list, April 2025 below.
April 2025, MAINE
Attorney General Pam Bondi announces Justice Department’s suit against Maine for allowing male players in girls’ sports. (In June, the Maine Senate doubled down.)
February 2025, NCAA
Female athletes sue NCAA, Harvard University, and the Ivy League citing harassment, abuse, and federal law violations from the 2021-2022 women’s sports season, including allowing a male athlete (Lia Thomas) to use women’s locker rooms, funded by ICONS.
February 2025, NCAA
Three former teammates sue University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, and the NCAA in an effort to scrub Lia Thomas’ NCAA swimming records.
January 2025, MAYO CLINIC
Michael Joyner, M.D., an anesthesiologist and physiologist who has worked at Mayo Clinic since 1992, sued the Mayo Clinic in November 2023 for disciplinary action taken against him for what Mayo described as "problematic" statements to the media, which included a New York Times interview in which he said testosterone improves athletic performance. Joyner’s complaint contends he was disciplined over his statements on testosterone’s impact on sex differences. A jury trial is scheduled to start on September 29, 2025.
“Doctor sues Mayo Clinic, claiming unfair treatment; Mayo Clinic responds,” KIMT3
“Judge rules that hearing in Dr. Joyner-vs.-Mayo Clinic case must be 'in person,”
Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minnesota
“Professor Sues Mayo Over Threat to Fire Him for Interviews,” Inside Higher Ed
December 2024, TEXAS
Employing fascinating and innovative legal reasoning, Texas lawsuit alleges the NCAA misleads fans by advertising sporting events as “women’s” when in fact they are coed because they allow certain men to compete. “This Court should enjoin the NCAA from its misleading and unlawful conduct to protect Texas consumers from the NCAA’s false, deceptive, and misleading practices,” reads the lawsuit.
“Texas attorney general (Ken Paxton) sues NCAA over transgender athletes competing in women's sports,” NBC News
November & December 2024, CALIFORNIA
Two female cross-country runners at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California filed a federal lawsuit when one was demoted to J.V. after a male transfer student was given her varsity spot. The plaintiffs claimed violations of their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights as well as protections under Title IX. Taylor Starling and Kaitlyn Slavin were also disciplined after wearing T-shirts that read “Save Women’s Sports” and "It’s Common Sense. XX ≠ XY." Athletic department officials allegedly told the girls not to wear their pro-women shirts after comparing the signage to swastikas.
November 2024, CALIFORNIA, MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
A dozen college volleyball players, later joined by one coach, filed suit against the Mountain West Conference and its commissioner along with officials at San Jose State University. They allege violations of Title IX and of their First Amendment rights, all stemming from the presence of Blaire Fleming, a male, on the San Jose State roster.
“Volleyball Players Sue Mountain West Alleging First Amendment, Title IX Violations Tied To Male Player,” Outkick.
May 2024, WEST VIRGINIA
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and more than 20 other states filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration for supporting male players to join girls’ sports teams in West Virginia to accept male players with certain gender identities. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a motion asking the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to stop the Biden administration's Title IX rules from going into effect, and to allow state laws that ban transgender athletes from playing on girls' sports teams to stay in effect. The Biden administration withdrew the proposed rules.
March 2024, NCAA
More than a dozen female athletes sued the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) for allowing male (trans-identified) athletes to compete against them and use female locker rooms. Both the NCAA and Georgia Tech, which hosted the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championships, knowingly violated Title IX by allowing Lia Thomas, the trans-identified man who dominated meet while studying at the University of Pennsylvania, to compete “as a woman.” Funded by ICONS.
“Female Athletes Sue NCAA Over Transgender Competitors in Sports,” The Free Press
February 2020, CONNECTICUT
The families of three female high school runners filed a federal lawsuit to block two male runners from participating in Connecticut girls sports. Selina Soule, a senior at Glastonbury High School; Chelsea Mitchell, a senior at Canton High School; and Alanna Smith, a sophomore at Danbury High School were represented by Alliance Defending Freedom. Allowing males to compete deprived them of track titles and scholarship opportunities, they claim.
Lawsuits by Trans-Identified Male Athletes and States Claiming Certain Males Have a Right to Play Women’s Sports and Use Women’s Locker Rooms
April 2025, MINNESOTA
Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a preemptive lawsuit against President Donald Trump seeking to prevent his administration from suing Minnesota, as it has sued Maine (see April 2025 above), to ban male athletes from girls and women’s sports.
“Minnesota sues Trump over transgender athletes,” Fox 9 Minneapolis St. Paul
“Minnesota Attorney General Files Preemptive Lawsuit Against Trump on Transgender Sports Ban,” Lakeland PBS
See response by female athletes, May 2025 above
March 2025, NEW YORK
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) appealed a Nassau County Supreme Court decision maintaining the county’s ban against males in female sports. The Court had denied the NYCLU’s motion to block the enforcement of a local law banning boys and men from participating in girls’ and women’s sports at county-run facilities.
February 2025, NEW HAMPSHIRE
In August 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and GLAD Law filed a lawsuit on behalf of Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle in response to HB 1205, a state law that prohibits males in grades five through 12 from participating in girls’ sports teams at public schools. The plaintiffs expanded the lawsuit on February 12, thus becoming the first legal challenge to the federal government’s executive order that blocks federal funding to schools that allow boys and men to participate in girls’ sports teams.
“New Hampshire High School Trans Athletes Take Their Fight to Trump,” New York Times
“Tirrell and Turmelle v. Edelblut,” GLAD Law
“Transgender teens challenge Trump ban on participating in women’s sports,” Jurist News
July 2024, IDAHO
Little v. Hecox involves a male, trans-identified student at Boise State University who challenged HB 500, an Idaho law barring participation by trans-identified male athletes in women’s sports.
In July 2025, the Supreme Court agreed to hear this case in the coming term.
December 2024, MINNESOTA
The Minnesota Supreme Court heard a lawsuit (Cooper vs. USA Powerlifting) filed by a trans-identified man, Jaycee Cooper, who was rejected from entering the women's division of USA Powerlifting.
“Minnesota Supreme Court hears case on trans athlete rejected by women's USA Powerlifting,” WCCO- CBS Minnesota
2021, West Virginia
A West Virginia case (B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education) involving a child, B.P.J., whose parent sued on his behalf, arguing that the State must allow biological boys who identify as girls to compete on girls’ teams. See July 2025 Supreme Court, above.
Other Resources
California: Summary of related lawsuits
Congress: List of State Laws Restricting the Participation of Transgender Student-Athletes in School Sports [based on gender identity] plus a detailed summary of legal arguments, including Title IX; the Equal Protection Clause; Title VII and Bostock v. Clayton County; state laws and policies; sports organizations; levels of scrutiny; and more.
“Gender and School Sports: Federal Action and Legal Challenges to State Laws,” Library of Congress report
Yours in fair play, the Women's Sports Policy Working Group:
Martina Navratilova, OLY
Donna de Varona, OLY
Nancy Hogshead, J.D., OLY
Donna Lopiano, Ph.D.
Mariah Burton Nelson, MPH
Tracy Sundlun
Quote: "Taylor Starling and Kaitlyn Slavin were also disciplined after wearing T-shirts that read 'Save Women’s Sports' and 'It’s Common Sense. XX ≠ XY.' Athletic department officials allegedly told the girls not to wear their pro-women shirts after comparing the signage to swastikas."
Swastikas. Chromosomal reality compared to swastikas. The stupid, it burns.
I bought a T-shirt from Jennifer Sey's company that reads "Make Women's Sports XX Again." I wore it to my gym. Got an email later in the day asking me not to wear it anymore because it had "upset some people."
This gym is owned by a woman. But she and all the employees list their pronouns on the homepage. (Eyeroll.)
How immature are you that you get "upset" by somebody's T-shirt?? Can't you just ignore it and go about your day?? If I saw someone in my class wearing a MAGA T-shirt, I would think, "Well, ok, I don't want to hang out with that person," but I would mind my own business and keep my mouth shut. I sure as hell wouldn't go crying to management!
Thank you for these lists and for advocating for fairness in sports and protection for female athletes. I appreciate the clear language as well. A group like yours gives me some hope. Thank you for your hard work and care about girls and women in sports.