Five West Virginia high school students who protested a trans athlete’s participation in a shot put competition have been banned from future competitions.
Becky Pepper-Jackson, 13, competed in the Harris County Middle School Track and Field Championships on April 18, two days after a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia’s ban on transgender sports violates the right of adolescents under Title IX.
Five girls from Lincoln High School approached the circle to take their turn and then refused to throw the ball.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a lawsuit against the Harrison County Board of Education on behalf of the student after he was banned from future events.
‘I will do everything in my power to defend these brave young women. This is simply wrong. “We must stand up for what is right and oppose these radical trans policies,” Morrisey said Monday.
Five Lincoln High School girls who refused to compete against a transgender athlete during a shot put competition on April 18 have been banned from future competitions.
Becky Pepper-Jackson, 13, competed in the Harris County High School Track and Field Championships and took home first place in the shot put competition with her 32-foot effort.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a lawsuit against the Harrison County Board of Education on behalf of the student.
The Attorney General posted his tweet in response to women’s rights activist and former college swimmer Riley Gaines, who has supported female athletes who have refused to compete against transgender athletes.
‘These girls stood up for what they believed in and their coach forbade them from competing. Crazy,” Gaines said.
‘It is dangerous to teach young girls to ignore the threats that their eyes and ears warn them about. What do some call this “progress”?
It’s unclear why the school or district banned the girls from future events over their recent protest in which they walked to the box to throw the weight before leaving without throwing anything.
On Wednesday, Gaines posted a video of one of the five athletes who participated in the protest speaking at a news conference about the incident.
The teenager said: “Fortunately, I found four lovely young women willing to support me.”
“We hope this opens the eyes of many more to see that this is not right and that the situation will end up killing women’s sport forever,” she added.
After the meet, Pepper-Jackson took home first place in the shot put competition with her effort of 32 feet, three feet longer than second place, and placed second in the discus.
Although they were legally allowed to compete, the five athletes protested Pepper-Jackson’s participation by refusing to play against her.
Gaines previously tweeted a video of the protest and said, “It’s a sad day when 13-14 year old girls have to be the adults in the room, but I couldn’t be more inspired and proud of these girls.”
Pepper-Jackson won her years-long fight to compete in sports after West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice banned transgender athletes from competing in middle school, high school and college in May 2021.
Women’s rights activist and former college swimmer Riley Gaines, who has supported female athletes who have refused to compete against transgender athletes, disagrees with the sports ban imposed on the five athletes.
Although they were legally allowed to compete, some athletes protested Pepper-Jackson’s participation by refusing to play against her. Pictured: The Lincoln High School girls approached the circle to take her turn and then refused to throw the ball.
Pepper-Jackson won her years-long fight to compete in sports since West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice banned transgender athletes from playing in May 2021.
On April 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the ban cannot apply to the 13-year-old boy.
The court previously blocked the state’s attempt to expel the teenager from her high school’s track and cross-country teams in February 2023.
The decision does not overturn the ban, as it applies only to Pepper-Jackson’s case, but the law could be left in limbo if other transgender student-athletes decide to challenge it.
The court noted that Pepper-Jackson lived as a child for more than five years. She began identifying as female in third grade and has participated strictly on women’s sports teams.
In addition to taking puberty blockers and estrogen hormone therapy, Pepper-Jackson legally changed her name and was issued a birth certificate by the state of West Virginia listing her as female.
Offering the teenager a “choice” between not participating in sports and participating only on boys’ teams “is not a real choice at all,” Judge Toby Heytens wrote in the ruling.
‘The defendants cannot expect BPJ to undo his social transition, his medical treatment and all the work he has done with his schools, teachers and coaches for almost half his life, introducing himself to his teammates, coaches and even opponents like a boy,” Heytens wrote.
In a statement, ACLU of West Virginia attorney Josh Block called the ruling a “tremendous victory.”
Morrisey thought otherwise, saying he was “deeply disappointed” and vowing to continue fighting to safeguard Title IX.
“The law was passed more than five decades ago and was intended to address sex discrimination in education by ensuring that women had equal opportunities to participate in federally funded programs.”
“We must continue to work to protect women’s sports so that women’s safety is ensured and girls have a truly fair playing field,” Morrisey said Tuesday. “We know the law is correct and we will use every tool available to defend it.”
In the ruling, the appeals court reaffirmed that government officials had the authority to establish separate sports teams for boys and girls and can enforce the line between them.
An appeals court ruled that West Virginia’s ban on transgender sports violates the 13-year-old athlete’s rights under Title IX (pictured: a protest at the state capitol in Charleston in 2023)
Pepper-Jackson has lived as a girl for more than five years. She began identifying as female in third grade and has participated strictly on women’s sports teams.
Pepper-Jackson told NBC News in October that she would not give up her fight to compete in women’s sports.
“We also do not hold that Title IX requires schools to allow all transgender girls to play on girls’ teams, regardless of whether they have gone through puberty and experienced elevated levels of circulating testosterone,” the court proclaimed.
‘We only hold that the district court erred in granting these defendants’ motions for summary judgment in this particular case and in failing to grant summary judgment to BPJ on its specific Title IX claim.’
In a dissenting opinion, Justice G. Steven Agee wrote that the state can separate teams by gender assigned at birth “without conflicting with either the Equal Protection Clause or Title IX.”
West Virginia is among 24 states that ban transgender women and girls from competing in sports consistent with their gender identity.
Pepper-Jackson told NBC News in October that she would not give up her fight to compete in women’s sports.
“I want to keep going because this is something I love doing and I’m not going to give it up,” he said. “This is something I really love and I’m not going to give up on anything.”
His mother, Heather Pepper-Jackson, said, “He likes to do his best at everything, whether it’s algebra, running, shot put or discus.”
“She tries to excel in everything she does, just like any other kid…if she didn’t start the fight, who will?”
