Lawsuit over transgender athletes nears decision

As the U.S Department of Education under the Biden administration withdrew its support earlier this week from the Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative nonprofit organization arguing to prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports in Connecticut, the Federal District Court allowed final presentations from both sides of the lawsuit during Friday’s hearing to discuss the pending motion to dismiss the case.

Judge Robert Chatigny said he would come to a decision on the lawsuit in the following two to three weeks.

Representatives of the defendants from the Connecticut Association of Schools — Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, which represents the two transgender athletes in relation to ADF’s lawsuit, opened the hearing.

They argued since Title IX is not defined by the results of individual athletes, ADF’s claim to eradicate the records of transgender athletes in girls’ sports is not valid and thereby does not violate the federal law which provides equal athletic opportunity for girls. Additionally, they argued that since individual sex is not defined in the text of Title IX, there should be room for any individual to participate in athletics as outlined by Connecticut’s policy to allow high school athletes to compete in sports according to one’s gender identity.

During Friday’s hearing, ADF’s senior counsel Roger Brooks represented the plaintiffs: Selina Soule (Glastonbury High School), Alanna Smith (Danbury High School), Chelsea Mitchell (Canton High School) and Ashley Nicoletti (Immaculate High

School).

Brooks argued that the reason for separation of boys’ and girls’ sports is because of biology, not gender identity, since that is what athletic ability is based on. He argued the girls no longer have equal quality of competition and are denied participation in athletic opportunities once transgender athletes are allowed to participate in girls’ sports since they hold greater physical advantages.

Following the hearing, CAS-CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini released the following statement:

“The CIAC has always maintained that its inclusive sports participation policy for transgender athletes complies with federal and state law, and was pleased by OCR’s recent withdrawal of the enforcement action against the CIAC or its member districts. Today the court heard arguments on why the federal court lawsuit should be dismissed and we look forward to receiving a ruling from the Court.”

Under the Trump administration, the DOE originally issued its support on the federal lawsuit last spring, claiming that allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports directly violates

Title IX, the federal law which allows girls equal opportunity in athletics.

Soule, Smith, Mitchell and Nicoletti originally filed the lawsuit in February 2020 against the Connecticut Associate of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CAS-CIAC) and the school districts of Glastonbury, Bloomfield, Hartford, Cromwell, Canton and Danbury to prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports.

The four cisgender girl athletes, and their families, represented by ADF, argue that athletes who are born male but identify as female and compete in girls’ sports take away elite athletic opportunities for girls, such as top finishes and post-high school athletic opportunities, due to their physical advantages.

The athletes’ lawsuit comes directly from their experiences competing against two transgender athletes in track and field. Their lawsuit follows their filed Title IX complaint in June 2019.

The two transgender athletes, Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut.

In September 2020, DOE sent letters to Connecticut school districts threatening to withhold federal funding if they continued to allow transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports. On Tuesday, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights withdrew those letters along with removing its involvement within the lawsuit.

The state of Connecticut allows high school athletes to compete in sports according to their gender identity based on a state anti-discrimination law. On his first in day office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in the health care, housing and educational spheres, which includes high school athletics.

Currently, 11 states have policies in place which discriminate against the inclusion of transgender and nonbinary high school students in athletics, according to transathlete.com. The website also lists 14 states that require a form of medical proof or invasive disclosures in order to allow transgender and nonbinary students to compete in athletics.