Click here to send your email to thank Judge Joseph R. Goodwin for ruling to protect female athletes from male competitors.

Fox News published an article titled Federal judge upholds West Virginia 'Save Women's Sports' law barring trans athletes from girls' sports teams.  The article reports in part:

West Virginia is one of 18 states that have enacted laws prohibiting transgender student athletes who identify as female from playing on girls' and women's sports teams

A federal judge in West Virginia has upheld a state law that prohibits biological male student athletes who identify and present themselves as female from playing on girl's school sports teams.

Judge Joseph R. Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia ruled on Thursday that H.B. 3293, the "Save Women's Sports Bill," which defines "girl" and "woman" as biologically female for the purpose of secondary school sports, is "constitutionally permissible." The court found that West Virginia's definition of "biological sex" for school sports is "substantially related to its important interest in providing equal athletic opportunities for females."

"I have no doubt that H.B. 3293 aimed to politicize participation in school athletics for transgender students," Goodwin wrote. "Nevertheless, there is not a sufficient record of legislative animus. Considering the law under the intermediate scrutiny standard, I find that it is substantially related to an important government interest."

The law, introduced in March 2021, is one of several recent attempts by Republican-controlled state legislatures to bar transgender student athletes from competing against members of the opposite sex. Critics say such efforts are hateful, discriminatory and even harmful towards transgender youth. Supporters counter that male and female biological differences make physical competition between transgender athletes and girls unfair and can deny women opportunities.

The "Save Women's Sports Bill" was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union, representing Becky Pepper-Jackson, a transgender middle school student who was barred from joining the girl's cross-country team. The ACLU argued the law violated Pepper Jackson's rights under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Title IX, a federal statute that prohibits sex-based discrimination.

Goodwin agreed that the law was designed to "prevent transgender girls from playing on girl's sports teams," but said this was legally permissible if there was a substantial government interest in doing so.

He declined to define the terms "girl" or "women," writing, "the courts have no business creating such definitions, and I would be hardpressed to find many other contexts where one’s sex and gender are relevant legislative considerations." However, he pointed to biological differences between men and women that are relevant in athletic competition.

"While some females may be able to outperform some males, it is generally accepted that, on average, males outperform females athletically because of inherent physical differences between the sexes. This is not an overbroad generalization, but rather a general principle that realistically reflects the average physical differences between the sexes," Goodwin wrote.

President Bill Clinton appointed Judge Joseph R. Goodwin to the district court in 1995.

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Click here to send your email to thank Judge Joseph R. Goodwin for ruling to protect female athletes from male competitors.