By Staff Reporter |
Arizona’s “Save Women’s Sports Act” no longer faces a court challenge following a Supreme Court ruling.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia v. B.P.J. (inclusive of Little v. Hecox) that states have a constitutional right to enact laws restricting single-sex sports participation on biological sex. The court ruling affirmed that biology, not gender identity, defines sex when considering federal regulations on sex-based discrimination.
The Save Women’s Sports Act went into effect in 2022 under SB 1165. The law requires K-12 students to play on sports teams aligning with their biological sex.
The following spring, the families of two boys who identify as transgender girls sued State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne in Doe v. Horne. The boys who filed were, at the time, an 11-year-old middle schooler in Maricopa County identified as “Jane Doe” and a 15-year-old high schooler in Pima County identified as “Megan Roe.”
Roe, now identified as Grey Picciano, dropped out of the case upon graduating high school, and until this week only Doe remained in the case.
The two youths had alleged the law was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act since they had either not undergone puberty or were taking puberty blockers.
The Tucson division of the Arizona District Court blocked the state law in July 2023, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in 2024.
Horne celebrated the lawsuit’s dismissal in a press release announcement, bringing to close a three-year court battle in which Horne ultimately held the line on Arizona’s law.
“There had been numerous articles about girls who worked hard on their sports, hoping to make the team, or even get a college scholarship or compete for the Olympics. Then they had to compete with a biological boy who was bigger, stronger and faster from birth,” said Horne. “They could not compete. Their dreams were shattered and they were devastated. They no longer need to fear those outcomes.”
Horne also pointed out that, of all those named as defendants in the original lawsuit, only his office remained three years later. Attorney General Kris Mayes reportedly declined to represent Horne in the case. Horne contracted the services of Wilenchik Law Firm to represent him.
An attorney behind the lawsuit to stop Arizona’s law, Rachel Berg, senior staff attorney with the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR), told Capitol Media Services that it was Doe’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit.
“[O]ur client has decided for personal reasons that she does not want to continue with the litigation,” said Berg.
In a statement last week responding to the Supreme Court ruling, Berg claimed state laws restricting participation in single-sex sports based on biological sex would lead to institutions checking the gender of participants should they appear to be physically above average.
“Blanket bans on transgender girls playing school sports invite anyone to call for a ‘gender check’ on any girl who wants to play sports if they think she is ‘too tall’ or ‘too strong,’” said Berg. “Local schools and sports associations should be handling this issue, not politicians.”
Including the dismissed case, NCLR has filed five cases challenging Arizona laws and policies which allegedly impose unlawful discriminations against individuals who identify as transgender.
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