Pepper-Jackson secured first place in the competition with a 32-foot effort, outperforming the second-place contestant by three feet. Additionally, the teen achieved second place in the discus event.
Some girls protested the transgender athlete’s participation by opting not to compete against him. Specifically, five girls from Lincoln Middle School approached the throwing circle for their turn but chose not to throw the ball.
The girls who protested the event received praise from other X users following the news too, with Nick Adams lamenting, “This needs to happen more often!”
“Five middle school girls refused to compete against a biological male in shot put,” he added. “It won’t stop until parents, coaches, and athletes everywhere take a stand like these girls did.”
The Daily Mail reports Pepper-Jackson’s victory marks the end of his prolonged battle to compete in sports, which began when West Virginia Governor Jim Justice implemented a ban on transgender athletes participating in middle school, high school, and college sports in May 2021.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, ruled last week that the ban could not be enforced against the 13-year-old.
This decision follows the court’s previous intervention in February 2023, which prevented the state from removing Pepper-Jackson from his middle school cross-country and track and field teams.
Tuesday’s ruling notably only pertains to Pepper-Jackson’s case and does not overturn the ban entirely. However, the law’s future could be uncertain if other transgender student athletes decide to challenge it.
The court highlighted that Pepper-Jackson has identified as a girl for more than five years, starting in the third grade. Throughout this time, he has exclusively participated on girls’ sports teams.
Pepper-Jackson has also undergone medical treatments such as puberty blockers and estrogen hormone therapy.
He has also legally changed his name, and the state of West Virginia has issued him a birth certificate that identifies him as female.
Judge Toby Heytens wrote in the ruling that offering Pepper-Jackson a “choice” between not participating in sports and participating only on boys’ teams “is no real choice at all.”
“The defendants cannot expect that B.P.J. will countermand her social transition, her medical treatment, and all the work she has done with her schools, teachers, and coaches for nearly half her life by introducing herself to teammates, coaches, and even opponents as a boy,’ he added.