Utah judge reverses law banning transgender kids from sports

At least 12 Republican-led states — including Utah — have passed laws banning transgender women or girls in sports based on the premise it gives them an unfair competitive advantage. Transgender rights advocates counter that the rules aren’t just about sports, but another way to demean and attack transgender youth. Similar cases are underway in states such as Idaho, West Virginia and Indiana.

Utah’s ban took effect in July after the state’s Republican Legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Spencer Cox, also a Republican.

Utah state Judge Keith Kelly said in the ruling that attorneys representing the families of three transgender student-athletes who filed the lawsuit have shown they’ve suffered significant distress by “singling them out for unfavorable treatment as transgender girls.”

The transgender girls and the parents filed the lawsuit last May, contending it violates the Utah Constitution’s guarantees of equal rights and due process.

Utah state Sen. Stuart Adams, a Republican, said in a statement Friday that the commission that will now make decisions is a way “to protect equitable and safe competition while preserving the integrity of women’s sports.”

The ruling follows a revelation this week by the Utah High School Activities Association that it secretly investigated a female athlete — without telling her or her parents — after receiving complaints from the parents of two girls she had defeated in competition questioning whether the girl was transgender. The association and the girl’s high school determined she indeed was female after poring through her school records dating back to kindergarten, association spokesman David Spatafore told lawmakers this week. He said that the girl and her family weren’t told of the investigation to spare them embarrassment and “to keep the matter private,” the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Gov. Cox said Thursday at his monthly news conference that the parents’ complaint about the girl who was investigated had crossed a line.

“My goodness, we’re living in this world where we’ve become sore losers, and we’re looking for any reason why our kid lost,” he said. He said he supports fairness in sports but that “making up allegations like that are pretty disturbing to me.”

Spatafore declined to reveal the student’s grade, school or sport to protect her identity. He said the student and her family were not told about the investigation because it might be offensive to them and that the parents would have been contacted “if needed.”

Spatafore also said the association has looked into other complaints involving transgender athletes in its efforts to comply with the Utah law, which went into effect in July. Some complaints include “when an athlete doesn’t look feminine enough,” he said. None of the complaints have been verified.

Before the ban, Utah had one registered transgender female athlete competing last year on a high school girls’ team, Spatafore said.

Brady Mccombs And Sam Metz, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Utah judge reverses law banning transgender kids from sports

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