Protesters supporting trans athletes competing in women’s sports gather outside the Supreme Court on Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Photo: Heather Diehl/Getty Images
The far-right Supreme Court majority marked the final day of Pride month with an anti-trans decision upholding state bans on trans girls from playing girls’ sports. That the ruling from the right-wing court had been long expected made it no less horrendous.
With a 6–3 judgment applying to two cases, one from Idaho and one from West Virginia, the court gave states nationwide carte blanche to discriminate against trans girls who want to play on teams consistent with their gender. The ruling does not constitute a nationwide ban on trans athletes, and trans girls can continue to compete in states without bans. Twenty-seven states currently have bans on the books against trans girl athletes. All those bans — and whatever new ones come into place — can stay in place.
One of the cases was just about a single girl seeking to participate in her school sports.
Genital inspection is a next logical step — a step already being proposed in several states.
