Trans teen at center of Supreme Court sports case wins West Virginia state title

On a spring weekend in West Virginia, as classmates and families gathered for the state track and field championships, Becky Pepper-Jackson stepped into the throwing circle carrying a burden far larger than a shot put.

The Bridgeport High School sophomore is not only a state champion. She is also the transgender teenager at the center of one of the most consequential LGBTQ+ rights cases now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pepper-Jackson, 15, won the West Virginia Class AAA girls shot put championship Friday with a personal best throw of 38 feet, 11.75 inches, according to results reported by the West Virginia Gazette-Mail. The victory came roughly four months after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in her challenge to West Virginia’s transgender athlete ban and just weeks before the justices are expected to issue their opinion.

A ruling is expected in the coming days.

Related: 7 takeaways from Supreme Court arguments about bans on trans women and girls in sports

The case, argued before the justices in January alongside a challenge to Idaho’s similar law, could determine whether states may categorically exclude transgender girls from girls' athletics under Title IX and the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. The outcome is expected to shape school sports policies nationwide.

West Virginia enacted its “Save Women’s Sports Act” in 2021, barring transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams in public schools and colleges. Pepper-Jackson sued the state with support from the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal after she was blocked from participating in her school’s cross-country and track teams.

According to court filings previously reviewed by The Advocate, Pepper-Jackson began receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy before experiencing testosterone-driven puberty. Her attorneys have argued that the state’s assertions about inherent competitive advantage do not reflect her circumstances and that the law unlawfully singles out transgender students for exclusion.

Related: Meet the West Virginian Middle School Student Challenging a Trans Sports Ban in Federal Court

Related: The trans athletes at the center of Supreme Court cases don’t fit conservative stereotypes

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit sided with Pepper-Jackson last year, concluding that applying the law to her likely violated Title IX protections against sex discrimination.

Yet during oral arguments in January, several members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared sympathetic to states defending sports bans. Multiple justices repeatedly framed the issue around competitive fairness and the preservation of opportunities for cisgender girls and women.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh described Title IX as an “amazing” law that transformed athletics for women and girls while questioning whether transgender inclusion policies could undermine those protections.

Pepper-Jackson’s attorneys countered that the state was attempting to exclude a small and vulnerable group of students from ordinary school life while relying on generalized assumptions rather than individualized evidence.

“This case is about the ability of transgender youth like Becky to participate in our schools and communities,” ACLU attorney Joshua Block said after arguments in January.