The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that USA Powerlifting discriminated against transgender women by banning them from competing, and sent part of the case back to a lower court for further consideration.
Jaycee Cooper, the transgender athlete at the center of the case, was denied entry to two women’s competitions in 2018. At the time, she had applied for a medical exemption because she was undergoing hormone therapy to lower her testosterone levels and the drug was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The exemption revealed her transgender identity to USA Powerlifting, which subsequently refused to allow her to compete.
In 2021, Cooper filed a lawsuit alleging that USA Powerlifting’s ban on transgender women from participating in female-designated competitions is discriminatory and violates the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.
Cooper points out in her lawsuit that at the time, the International Olympic Committee allowed transgender women to compete as long as their testosterone levels remained below a certain threshold for at least 12 months. The International Powerlifting Federation, the parent organization of U.S. Powerlifting, had similar rules, but did not require its members to follow them.
Cooper said he provided documentation showing that his testosterone levels had been below IOC limits for two years.
In its defense, USA Powerlifting argued that the decision to suspend Cooper was not based on her gender identity, but on something called a “strength advantage” that stems from the sex she was assigned at birth.
In a unanimous opinion, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that USA Powerlifting violated the public accommodations provision of the Minnesota Human Rights Act. However, the judges agreed that the organization had raised reasonable legal defenses to Cooper’s other claims of business discrimination. Minnesota Star Tribune.
Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, writing for the court, said USA Powerlifting’s blanket ban on transgender athletes from women’s competition is “discriminatory on its face” and violates the spirit of human rights law, which prohibits discrimination based on personal characteristics, including gender identity.
“There is no personal nuance to USA Powerlifting’s position,” Hudson wrote. “It assumes that all transgender women have a competitive advantage in the women’s sector. There is no assessment of whether that is true in any particular case.”
However, regarding claims of corporate discrimination, Hudson noted that USA Powerlifting “must show that the discriminatory policy is reasonably necessary to achieve its core mission and that there are no reasonable alternatives.”
To support its claims, USA Powerlifting submitted expert testimony and scientific evidence claiming that transgender women who have gone through male puberty retain significant strength advantages over cisgender women, including “increased body and muscle mass, bone density, bone structure, and connective tissue.” The organization further argued that these benefits cannot be reversed by hormone therapy.
As a result, the court found that there was a legitimate question as to whether the transgender ban served a “legitimate business purpose” and remanded the matter to Ramsey County District Court to determine whether Mr. Cooper had a legitimate claim of business discrimination.
Transgender advocates hailed the ruling as a significant victory for the trans community.
“This is a very important opinion,” said Jess Braverman, legal director at Gender Justice, which represented Mr Cooper. “All of these policies are people trying to exclude trans women specifically from public life, and you can’t do that in Minnesota.
“[Transgender people are] “They say, ‘You’re not good enough just by having what everyone else has,'” Braverman continued. A ruling like this would send the opposite message: This is Minnesota, and we have our own laws. ”
Larry Mayle, president of the United States Powerlifting Association, said the ruling allows the organization to continue operating in Minnesota. But he argued that the court’s opinion is inconsistent with the federal government’s interpretation of sex discrimination and with laws in 27 states that prohibit transgender athletes from competing based on their gender identity.
“For us, what is more concerning is that mandating the inclusion of trans women in the women’s sector without any adjustments or accommodations to ensure equity actually becomes a tool of discrimination against women, who are the largest protected class in this country,” Maile said.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
