Trump's Trials - Supreme Court appears likely to uphold state bans on transgender athletes

Episode Date: January 14, 2026

The Supreme Court's conservative majority seemed inclined Tuesday to uphold laws in 27 states that bar transgender girls from participating in team sports at publicly funded schools. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports. Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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And I'm Juana Summers. At the Supreme Court today, the conservative majority seemed inclined to uphold laws in 27 states that bar transgender girls from participating in sports teams at publicly funded schools. NPR Legal Affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg was in the courtroom. Hi there. Hi there. Nina, start by giving us the cliff's notes of this case. Two transgender girls, one in college in Idaho, the other in fifth grade in West Virginia, wanted to be part of their school track teams, but state law barred them from participating.

Each of them went to court contending that their respective state laws violate both the equal protection clause of the Constitution and federal statutes barring discrimination against women in sports. So how did the arguments go? They were long. More than three hours, and the justices acknowledged the difficulty of the case, as in this exchange between Justice Neil Gorsuch and, Trump administration lawyer Hashim Mupin, with Justice Elena Kagan chiming in too. Take a listen as Mupin argues that some of the court's hypotheticals are based on pseudoscience. Well, it's not pseudo. It's good science.

It's not pseudoscience to say boys' brain development happens at a different stage than girls does. Well, with all respect, I don't think there's any science anywhere that is suggested that these sort of intellectual differences are traceable to biological differences. And I don't think the statute should be read. With respect, I don't think you're a Ph.D. in this stuff. And neither of. I know I'm not. Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh dominated the questioning, likely because of their personal connections to these issues. Gorsuch, one of the court's most conservative members, authored the court's 2020 decision declaring that the federal law banning sex discrimination in employment protects gay and trans workers from discrimination, too. and Justice Kavanaugh is a sports fanatic who has long coached his daughters and other girls' basketball teams.

I hate that a kid who wants to play sports might not be able to play sports. I hate that. But it's kind of a zero-sum game for a lot of teams. And at another point, he said something slightly different. For the individual girl who does not. not make the team or doesn't get on the stand for the medal, there's a harm there. And I think we can't sweep that aside. On the other hand, he seemed to suggest that states that want to allow transgender girls to participate in school sports perhaps should be allowed to do that. And those states who do

allow it, are they, is your position that they are violating the Constitution, the Equal Protection Clause, rights of biological girls and women by allowing that, or do you say that's up to each state to decide and that the Constitution gives discretion to the state whether to allow it or not to allow it? And Nina, if the court's conservatives seem inclined to uphold these laws that exist in 27 states. What exactly does that mean? Well, it looked to me as though some members of the conservative majority want to write a narrow opinion. Here, for example, is Justice Amy Coney-Barrant. So how would your theory play out if we're talking about six-year-olds, where there's no difference between boys and girls in terms of athletic ability, testosterone levels, etc.?

Justice Gorsuch had a similar hypothetical. When it comes to high school performance, girls are sure a lot better than boys. And so we're only going to have remedial classes for boys and girls aren't free to attend. So how do you think this will all play out in the states, Nina? I think the die likely is cast given the political moment that we're in, in which President Trump has profited politically and greatly from using this topic as an issue. Democrats are divided on the issue. So the big question is whether the states that allow transgender participation in school schools, sports will be allowed to continue to do that. That was NPR's Nina Totenberg. Thank you.

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