Transgender girls in Utah will be able to compete in female sports when the new school year begins after a judge reversed a prohibition on Friday awaiting legal objections from parents.
Transgender girls will now be evaluated by a state commission comprised of political appointees to determine if they are eligible to participate. In a bill passed earlier this year, Utah’s Republican legislators established the commission as a backup plan to be implemented in the event of an injunction against the law.
In accordance with the law, the panel may request and evaluate the child’s height and weight while determining whether a transgender girl would have an unfair advantage. The commission will consist of a medical data statistician, a physician with experience in gender identity healthcare, a sports physiologist, mental health professional, collegiate athletic trainer, representative of an athletic association, and a rotating member who is a coach or official in the relevant sport for each case.
The Utah decision was the most recent court development in a countrywide dispute over how to approach a contentious problem.
At least 12 states governed by Republicans, including Utah, have approved legislation prohibiting transgender women and girls from participating in sports on the grounds that it gives them an unfair competitive advantage. Transgender rights supporters counter that the rules are an additional attempt to degrade and assault transgender children. Similar proceedings are ongoing in the states of Idaho, West Virginia, and Indiana.
Utah’s prohibition went into force in July after the state’s Republican legislature overrode a veto by Republican governor Spencer Cox.
In his ruling, Utah state judge Keith Kelly stated that the attorneys representing the families of three transgender female student-athletes who filed the lawsuit have demonstrated that their clients have suffered significant emotional distress as a result of “being singled out for unfavorable treatment as transgender girls.”
In May of last year, the transgender girls and their parents filed the case, alleging that it violates the equal rights and due process provisions of the Utah Constitution.
According to Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the verdict was fantastic news for the girls and their families.
Minter remarked, “This was putting them under such great pressure and strain.” It is a tremendous relief to have that burden lifted.
Republican Utah state senator Stuart Adams said in a statement released on Friday that the panel will now make choices “to protect equal and safe competition while safeguarding the integrity of women’s sports.”
The ruling follows the Utah High School Activities Association’s revelation this week that it secretly investigated a female athlete — without informing her or her parents — after receiving complaints from the parents of two girls she had defeated in competition questioning the girl’s gender identity. David Spatafore, a spokesperson for the association, told legislators this week that the group and the girl’s high school confirmed she was really female after examining her kindergarten through high school school records. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, he stated that the child and her family were not informed of the probe to spare them shame and “keep the matter confidential.”
Thursday at his monthly news conference, Cox stated that the parents’ complaint about the investigated girl went too far.
“My gosh, we live in a culture where everyone has become a sore loser, and we’re searching for any excuse why our child lost,” he remarked. He stated that he supports justice in sports, but that “bringing up accusations like that disturbs me much.”
Spatafore refused to disclose the student’s grade, school, or sport in order to safeguard her privacy. According to him, the student and her family were not informed of the probe because it could have been offensive to them, but they would have been contacted “if necessary.”
In its efforts to comply with the Utah law, which went into effect in July, Spatafore stated that the association has also investigated complaints regarding transgender athletes. Among the criticisms is “when an athlete does not appear sufficiently feminine,” he stated. Not a single complaint has been verified. Prior to the ban, Utah had one transgender female athlete enrolled to compete on a high school girls’ team, according to Spatafora.