Federal judge temporarily blocks Idaho law banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – An Idaho law that prohibits transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports has been temporarily blocked by a federal court, CBN News reports. US District Judge David Nye said Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act “stands in stark contrast to the policies of elite athletic bodies that regulate sports both nationally and globally.”

The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act was signed into law by Idaho Gov. Bradley Little (R) in March. The law highlights “inherent differences between men and women,” including bone structure and hormones which could give biological men a definite advantage over women when competing in sports, CBN News reports.

In his decision to impose a temporary block on the law, Nye said the plaintiffs challenging the legislation “are likely to succeed in establishing” that the law is “unconstitutional as currently written.” The plaintiffs are the American Civil Liberties Union, representing Lindsay Hecox, a transgender athlete from Boise State University who wants to try out for the college’s cross-country and track teams.

“In making this determination, it is not just the constitutional rights of transgender girls and women athletes at issue but, as explained above, the constitutional rights of every girl and woman athlete in Idaho,” Nye wrote.

Filing a motion in support of the law, however, is Madison Kenyon, a track athlete at Idaho State University. Kenyon told CBN News how she has personally felt “frustrated” and “discouraged” losing to a male. “Biologically, males are capable of so much more,” Kenyon said. “When you’re training at the collegiate level, putting everything out there and training as hard as you can then get beat by somebody that you can’t really compete against… I got involved in this because I thought it was the best way for me to stand up for something that I believe in, to support women’s sports, and to advocate for these opportunities that should be protected for us,” she said. 

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