Five West Virginia middle school girls refused to compete against a transgender in shot put two days after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a law that mandated competing in the category that matches your biological sex.
“FIVE middle school female athletes in West Virginia refuse to throw shot put against male, Becky Pepper-Jackson. This comes just 2 days after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the WV law that says you must compete in the category that matches your sex. It’s a sad day when 13-14yr old girls have to be the adults in the room, but I couldn’t be more inspired by and proud of these girls. Enough is enough. The tide is turning!” swimmer and sports activist Riley Gaines posted to X.
The ruling from the United States Circuit Court of Appeals came down on Tuesday negating a West Virginia law that prohibits biological boys from competing on girls’ sports teams. It allows a 13-year-old transgender who competes on the girls’ track and field team to continue to do so.
“The defendants cannot expect that [this athlete] 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,” Judge Toby Heytens wrote, according to the Associated Press.
FIVE middle school female athletes in West Virginia refuse to throw shot put against male, Becky Pepper-Jackson.
This comes just 2 days after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the WV law that says you must compete in the category that matches your sex.
It’s a… pic.twitter.com/RzMgh4jVRU
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 19, 2024
The ruling was 2-1 and only applies to the 13-year-old transgender, Becky Pepper-Jackson, who began transitioning in third grade. But it does set a precedent for other cases moving forward.
Other girls competing with the Bridgeport Middle School girls’ track and field team made a statement and “stepped out” during a meet in protest of the transgender at the heart of the ruling competing in shot put and discus throwing. The school was competing in the 2024 Harrison County Middle School Championships Thursday at Liberty High School in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The protest was first reported by OutKick.
Seven schools were present at the competition including Bridgeport, Heritage Christian, Notre Dame, South Harrison, Lincoln, Mountaineer (Clarksburg), and Washington Irving.
The five girls protesting were from Lincoln. Each of them “stepped in” and then “stepped out” when it was their turn to compete in the shot put contest. They repeated the protest in the discus event.
Kudo’s the the young ladies who refused to compete against a dude!
— Gunther Eagleman (@GuntherEagleman) April 19, 2024
Unsurprisingly, according to the girls who protested, the transgender competitor won the shot put event.
Gaines commented during the “Gaines for Girls” podcast on OutKick, “It’s a sad day when the middle school girls have to be the adults in the room. Conceding your event is so much easier said than done, but these girls have the tenacity and ability to stand their ground. I couldn’t be more proud of their bravery and willingness to show their raw emotion. Girls and women have had enough.”
West Virginia is one of at least 24 states that have passed a law banning transgenders from competing in certain women’s or girls’ sports competitions.
Bans are currently in effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.
BASED
— Gunther Eagleman (@GuntherEagleman) April 19, 2024
“In addition to West Virginia, judges have temporarily put enforcement of the bans on hold in Arizona, Idaho, and Utah. But the 2nd Circuit revived a challenge last year to Connecticut’s policy of letting transgender girls compete in girls sports, sending it back to a lower court without ruling on its merits,” the Associated Press noted.
X users applauded the girls’ protest:
The only way you can force an end to this mockery of woman’s sports is refuse to participate in the hype
— streetglide12 aka Chief (@streetglide12) April 19, 2024
Bravo to those girls!
— FED UP (@FowardGoing) April 19, 2024
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) April 19, 2024
Wow. Well done by these kids. We need more of this.
— KP Kelly (@KP_Kelly) April 19, 2024
Good for them actually standing up for themselves
— Washingtons ghost (@hartgoat) April 19, 2024
This is the way.
— Five Times August (@FiveTimesAugust) April 19, 2024
I’m so glad these girls did this. Make these boys stand by themselves on the podium. Don’t give them the satisfaction of it looking like they beat anyone. They won’t want to pose on an empty podium.
— Denver Software Dev Guy (@WhoshotyaCo) April 19, 2024
These girls are patriots!
Good for them.
If all girls and women did likewise then the whole men in women’s sports issue would be over fast.
— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) April 19, 2024
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Author: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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