Running Into Hurdles

Lindsay Hecox, 20, fell in love with running track and cross-country in high school. As a sophomore at Boise State University in Idaho last fall, she dreamed of trying out for the women’s teams.

But to do so, she first had to score a victory off the track. Hecox is transgender, and last spring, Idaho became the first state to pass a law banning transgender female athletes from competing in women’s sports. Idaho lawmakers argued that women who are transgender have an unfair advantage over women who are cisgender (people whose gender identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth).*

Hecox and a Boise high school athlete sued the state of Idaho, saying the law is discriminatory. And in August, a federal judge put the law on hold while the suit is pending. The ruling wasn’t final, but it provided a temporary win for Hecox and other transgender athletes.

“I feel a major sense of relief,” Hecox says. “I’m a girl, and the right team for me is the girls’ team. It’s time courts recognize that.”

The case in Idaho is part of a growing national debate over how—if at all—schools should regulate transgender athletes. Last month, Mississippi became the second state to ban transgender female athletes from women’s sports. And lawmakers in more than two dozen other states have introduced similar legislation.

Lindsay Hecox, 20, fell in love with running track and cross-country in high school. As a sophomore at Boise State University in Idaho last fall, she dreamed of trying out for the women’s teams.

But to do so, she first had to score a victory off the track. Hecox is transgender. Last spring, Idaho became the first state to pass a law banning transgender female athletes from competing in women’s sports. Idaho lawmakers argued that women who are transgender have an unfair advantage over women who are cisgender (people whose gender identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth).*

Hecox and a Boise high school athlete sued the state of Idaho, saying the law is discriminatory. And in August, a federal judge put the law on hold while the suit is pending. The ruling wasn’t final, but it provided a temporary win for Hecox and other transgender athletes.

“I feel a major sense of relief,” Hecox says. “I’m a girl, and the right team for me is the girls’ team. It’s time courts recognize that.”

The case in Idaho is part of a growing national debate whether schools should regulate transgender athletes. There is also disagreement about how any potential regulations would be put in place. Last month, Mississippi became the second state to ban transgender female athletes from women’s sports. And lawmakers in more than two dozen other states have introduced similar legislation.

At the center of a lot of these disputes is Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in public schools, including in athletics. The passage of Title IX in 1972 led to a growth of women’s sports teams. However, there are disagreements over whether the term “sex” in the law applies to gender identity.

That debate is playing out in Connecticut, where a group of cisgender female high school athletes has sued the state’s athletic conference over its policy of allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports without restrictions.

They argue that the policy violates Title IX, because it gives transgender athletes an unfair advantage, thus denying cisgender female athletes awards, medals, and scholarships.

“It’s sad to see that all our training just goes to waste,” says Alanna Smith, one of the plaintiffs in the case.

But the athletics conference and L.G.B.T.Q. rights advocates argue that Title IX protects transgender athletes because it protects all public school girls from discrimination—and that includes transgender girls.

“So many young trans people face exclusion at school and in athletics and it contributes to the horrible pain and discrimination that my community faces,” says Terry Miller, one of two transgender sprinters mentioned in the lawsuit. “The more we are told that we don’t belong and should be ashamed of who we are, the fewer opportunities we have to participate in sports at all.”

At the center of a lot of these disputes is Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in public schools. The law extends to public school athletics. The passage of Title IX in 1972 led to a growth of women’s sports teams. But there are disagreements over whether the term “sex” in the law applies to gender identity.

That debate is playing out in Connecticut. There, a group of cisgender female high school athletes has sued the state’s athletic conference over its policy of allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports without restrictions.

They say that the policy violates Title IX because it gives transgender athletes an unfair advantage. They argue that the advantage denies cisgender female athletes awards, medals, and scholarships.

“It’s sad to see that all our training just goes to waste,” says Alanna Smith, one of the plaintiffs in the case.

But the athletics conference and L.G.B.T.Q. rights advocates argue that Title IX protects transgender athletes. They point to the fact that the law protects all public school girls from discrimination, which includes transgender girls.

“So many young trans people face exclusion at school and in athletics, and it contributes to the horrible pain and discrimination that my community faces,” says Terry Miller, one of two transgender sprinters mentioned in the lawsuit. “The more we are told that we don’t belong and should be ashamed of who we are, the fewer opportunities we have to participate in sports at all.”

The debate over transgender athletes recently reached Congress. The House of Representatives in February passed the Equality Act. The law would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in workplaces, schools, and other public places.

It would also make clear that “sex” in Title IX includes gender identity. The bill might pass a closely divided Senate and get signed by President Biden, who supports it. Even then, it could face legal challenges. The Supreme Court recently showed support for transgender rights (see “A Legal Victory," below). Still, how the Court would rule in a case involving sports remains unclear.

The court put the Idaho law on hold last fall. Afterward, Hecox tried out for the Boise State track and cross-country teams. She didn’t make the cut but plans to try again next year.

“We don’t want to have any advantage,” she says. “All I want to do is run, have a team, have friends on the team, and all try together. There’s no vindictiveness here of me trying to take away a girl’s scholarship or trophy or places.”

^{*The laws in Idaho and Mississippi don’t affect transgender men, as fewer concerns have been raised about them having an unfair advantage over cisgender men in sports.}

^{*The laws in Idaho and Mississippi don’t affect transgender men, as fewer concerns have been raised about them having an unfair advantage over cisgender men in sports.}

With reporting by Talya Minsberg, Adam Liptak, Gillian R. Brassil, and Jeré Longman of The New York Times.

With reporting by Talya Minsberg, Adam Liptak, Gillian R. Brassil, and Jeré Longman of The New York Times.