Supreme Court Ruling on Transgender Student Athletes Has Direct Consequences for Colorado

Today, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in West Virginia v. B. P. J. (consolidated with Little v. Hecox), the cases questioning the ability of states to ban transgender girls and women from participating in school sports. The Court ruled that schools can determine eligibility for women's and girls' sports teams based on “biological sex.” 

Rocky Mountain Equality responds to the Court’s ruling and calls on Coloradans to stand against a similar ban in our own state, currently known as Initiative 109, that will be voted on in November.

“A family shouldn’t have to leave their home state so their kids can play tee-ball or soccer,” said Mardi Moore, chief executive officer of Rocky Mountain Equality. “The Supreme Court’s decision will lead to exactly that for families across the country. It harms all students by allowing states to intrude in local communities and schools and rob certain kids of opportunity. We have the ability to make sure that doesn’t happen to Colorado families by rejecting the proposed unfair ban when we vote in November.”

Justice Kavanaugh in his opinion agreed that ‘[n]o student-athlete on either side of the issue ... deserves to be ostracized or vilified.’ 

Colorado Initiative 109

Colorado Ballot Initiative 109, titled “Male and Female Participation in School Sports,” would ban transgender students of every age from participating in school sports alongside their peers. It will receive a different number when it appears on the ballot in November. This sweeping measure singles out one small group of students for exclusion, stripping them of the same opportunities to compete, belong, and grow that every other Colorado student enjoys.

“These bans do not make sports fairer or safer,” said Moore. “They invite adults to question and harass children about their bodies. They isolate students who are already among the most vulnerable to bullying and mental health challenges, and they send a clear message to transgender youth: you do not belong.”

Like the laws upheld by the Supreme Court today, Initiative 109 applies blanket restrictions without regard for age, sport, level of competition, or the individual circumstances of the student. It would affect children and students from kindergarten all the way through college, and it would open the door to invasive questioning and inspections that put every girl in Colorado sports at risk of harassment and scrutiny.

What Today’s Ruling Means for Initiative 109

Colorado voters are also being faced with the questions at the heart of West Virginia v. B.P.J. The students in those cases simply wanted to participate in school sports with their friends. Initiative 109 would deny that same opportunity to every transgender young person in Colorado.

Rocky Mountain Equality calls on voters to reject Initiative 109 at the ballot box. Sports teach our children teamwork, resilience, and belonging, and every child in Colorado deserves access to those opportunities. 

Over the past five years, more and more legislation has been introduced across the country targeting transgender youth. Colorado has the opportunity to choose a different path, one that reflects the state’s values of fairness, dignity, and equal opportunity for every child.