Nobody is banned from playing, only from playing for opposite-sex teams.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., cases challenging state laws that restrict participation on girls’ and women’s sports teams to female athletes. A January 2025 poll found that 79% of Americans—including 67% of Democrats—believe male athletes who “identify” as women shouldn’t be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
Faced with this overwhelming consensus, much of the media has adopted a strategy of reframing the issue. It is presented as whether transgender people should be “banned from sports,” not whether males should be excluded from female sports.
The headlines following the court’s oral arguments were nearly interchangeable. The New York Times: “Justices Seem Inclined to Allow States to Bar Transgender Athletes.” Reuters wrote that the justices “lean toward allowing transgender sports bans.” The Associated Press said the court “seems likely to allow state bans of trans athletes in school sports.”
Continue reading the entire piece here at the Wall Street Journal (paywall)
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Colin Wright is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
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