In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court found that states are allowed to exclude transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports.
Writing for the majority in West Virginia v B.P.J., Justice Brett Kavanaugh reasoned:
In recent years, some biological males who identify as female have sought to play on women’s or girls’ sports teams. That modern development has triggered national and international concerns about safety and competitive fairness for female athletes, as well as related worries about preserving equal opportunity for women and girls to play sports.
For those reasons, 27 States—as well as the International Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and the NCAA—have banned all biological males from competing in women’s and girls’ sports.
These cases concern two of those state laws, from West Virginia and Idaho. The question before the Court is: Under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, may schools maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females? In other words, may schools determine eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex? The answer is yes.
Kansas is one of the 27 states mentioned by Justice Kavanaugh that exclude biological males from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, having passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act in 2023 over Governor Laura Kelly’s veto.
The contentious issue of biological males playing in female sports has been argued in the courts, in government agencies and in Kansas school board meetings for years, although it is not a controversial subject with voters.
A June 2026 public opinion survey found that 75% of Kansas voters believe biological males should be prohibited from participating in girls’ sports. The majority of voters feel this way across all geographical and ideological sectors, which makes one wonder why it remains a hotly debated issue among state legislators and some school board members.
Dave Trabert, CEO of Kansas Policy Institute and The Sentinel, says it’s because some elected officials in both parties don’t represent their constituents:
“We see the same disconnect on property tax reform. Voters overwhelmingly want assessment and levy limits, but most Democrats and some Republicans represent the wishes of local government or their personal viewpoint. That’s not the way a representative democracy is supposed to work.”
