Opponents of Connecticut�s policy letting transgender girls compete in
girls high school sports will get a second chance to challenge it in
court, an appeals court ruled Friday, which revived the case without
weighing in on its merits.

Both sides called it a win. The American Civil Liberties Union said it
welcomes a chance to defend the rights of the two transgender high school
track runners it represents. The Alliance Defending Freedom, which
represented the four cisgender athletes who brought the lawsuit, also said
it looks forward to seeking a ruling on the case�s merits.

In a rare full meeting of all active judges on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals in Manhattan, judges found the cisgender runners have standing
to sue and have described injuries that might qualify for monetary
damages. The runners also seek to alter certain athletic records, alleging
they were deprived of honors and opportunities at elite track-and-field
events because they say �male athletes� were permitted to compete against
them.

The case had been dismissed by a Connecticut judge in 2021, and that
decision was affirmed by three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit a year ago.

At least 20 states have approved a version of a blanket ban on transgender
athletes playing on K-12 and collegiate sports teams statewide, but a
Biden administration proposal to forbid such outright bans is set to be
finalized by March after two delays and much pushback. As proposed, the
rule announced in April would establish that blanket bans would violate
Title IX, the landmark gender-equity legislation enacted in 1972.

Under the proposal, it would be much more difficult for schools to ban,
for example, a transgender girl in elementary school from playing on a
girls basketball team. But it would also leave room for schools to develop
policies that prohibit trans athletes from playing on more competitive
teams if those policies are designed to ensure fairness or prevent sports-
related injuries.

In a statement Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU
Foundation of Connecticut cast the ruling as a victory for the two runners
they represent � Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller � noting that the 2nd
Circuit wrote that the transgender runners have an �ongoing interest in
litigating against any alteration of their public athletic records.�

Roger Brooks, a lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said the
decision was a victory �not only for the women who have been deprived of
medals, potential scholarships, and other athletic opportunities, but for
all female athletes across the country.�

In 2020, the Alliance sued on behalf of four athletes � Selina Soule,
Chelsea Mitchell, Alanna Smith, and Ashley Nicoletti � over a Connecticut
Interscholastic Athletic Conference policy that allows transgender girls
to compete in girls� athletic events.

Three of 15 judges who heard arguments earlier this year fully dissented
on Friday, while five other judges dissented to portions of the majority
ruling.

In a dissent to the majority ruling, Circuit Judge Denny Chin noted that
three of the cisgender athletes alleged that only one track event in their
high school careers were affected by the participation of transgender
athletes while a fourth athlete alleged that four championship races were
affected.

In a footnote, Chin wrote that all four plaintiffs currently compete on
collegiate track-and-field teams, some after being awarded scholarships,
while neither of the transgender athletes who intervened in the case have
competed since high school.

And he pointed out that no one was able to cite any precedent in which a
sports governing body retroactively stripped an athlete of accomplishments
when the athlete complied with all existing rules and did not cheat or
take an illegal substance.

�It is not the business of the federal courts to grant such relief,� Chin
said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/court-revives-
lawsuit-connecticut-rule-allowing-trans-girls-compete-sc-rcna130033