(LifeSiteNews) — USA Powerlifting says it looks forward to further explaining why it barred a gender-confused male from competing against female athletes following a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling this week.
On Wednesday, the court determined that USA Powerlifting’s decision to ban 35-year-old “JayCee” Cooper from competing in the women’s division is “facially discriminatory.”
“Although USA Powerlifting lacked a formal, written transgender participation policy at the time of its initial communication with Cooper, the record establishes … that USA Powerlifting’s policy at the time of the decision was to categorically exclude transgender women from competing in the women’s division,” the ruling said.
Five of the court’s seven justices were appointed by far-left Democratic Governor Tim Walz, while the remaining two were appointed by former Democratic Governor Mark Dayton. Walz was tapped as the vice-presidential running mate for Kamala Harris during the 2024 election cycle.
The court concluded that USA Powerlifting’s decision to ban Cooper from two events in 2018 for his “strength advantages” was not compelling and that it violated the state’s so-called Human Rights Act in doing so.
The court’s ruling notably reverses part of a 2023 appeals court decision on Cooper’s case. It also sends another part of the case to a lower court to determine if USA Powerlifting “has a legitimate business purpose for excluding transgender women from the women’s division.”
USA Powerlifting previously argued that it does have a “legitimate business purpose” to exclude Cooper from competition.
“… Cooper was born biologically male and went through puberty as a male. According to unrebutted scientific research, males have up to a 64% strength advantage in powerlifting and suppressing testosterone only reduces the advantage by about 10%. This difference in outcomes makes it fundamentally unfair for a male-to-female transgender powerlifter to compete in the women’s division,” the group said in a statement.
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USA Powerlifting’s attorney Ansis Viksnins said he looks forward to providing the lower court what it needs to rule in his client’s favor.
“What the Supreme Court did was to hold that there were questions, legitimate questions, for a jury to decide on the business discrimination part of the case, specifically whether USA Powerlifting had a legitimate business reason for not allowing … Cooper to compete in the women’s division,” he said. “And so we’re very pleased that the court is giving us that opportunity to present all of the evidence.”
At the same time, Minnesota Republicans do not seem to be as optimistic as Viksnins.
“For decades, women and girls fought tirelessly for the rights guaranteed under Title IX. Sadly, those hard-won protections have increasingly come under attack, and today’s decision marks another setback in the fight to protect girls’ sports,” Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth said in a statement.
“This issue is ultimately about safety and fairness, and Minnesotans overwhelmingly agree that their daughters and granddaughters should not be forced to compete against boys. House Republicans are ready to act in the first weeks of next year’s legislative session to make clear that girls’ sports are for girls.”
Jess Braverman, a self-described “non-binary” person from the Gender Justice Legal Director, celebrated the ruling, stating that the court’s decision is a major victory for Cooper.
“When it comes to discrimination [in] public accommodation — you cannot bar transgender women from women’s sports teams, and that is a huge victory. We are so proud,” Braverman said. “JayCee Cooper won on public accommodations. That’s not changing no matter what … Even if we took the business claim to its end and even if USA Powerlifting were successful on that, they would still lose on public accommodations and be liable to her for discrimination.”
State laws that permit gender-confused athletes to play among competitors of the sex they identify with have been targeted by the Trump administration since February, when the president signed the “Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. Since then, Trump has repeatedly threatened to withhold federal dollars from California, Maine, and other state-funded entities if they do not keep male athletes out of female competitions.
Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced they were launching an investigation against Minnesota for having “allowed male athletes to compete” on female teams.
