N.Y. appeals court hears case on banning trans athletes in Conn.

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:05 PM PT – Friday September 30, 2022

A New York appeals court hears a case against the Connecticut Athletic Conference for allowing transgender athletes to compete in high school sports. The case goes back to a lawsuit that was filed in federal court in 2020.

The Alliance Defending Freedom is pursuing the case on behalf of four female athletes. The four women claimed that their chances to compete as athletes in high school were taken away by transgender males who were competing in their sports.

However, the appeal was dismissed last year with the judge stating that since both transgender athletes in the suit graduated high school, they had no case. The judge also stated that the four women did not identify any other transgender athletes they would be competing against. This lead to the dropping of the case. 

The plaintiffs argued the athletics policy violated Title IX. Title IX requires equal opportunities for women and girls in education and in sports.

One of the four plaintiffs, Chelsea Mitchell, believes the case is about fairness in women’s sports. Selina Soule, another female athlete who is apart of the lawsuit, testified on Thursday. Soule disclosed that she was forced to compete against men for her entire high school athletic career.

The lawsuit was also filed to change state track results and records set by two transgender athletes. Christiana Kiefer, the attorney for the female athletes, said her clients’ achievements and records mattered. Kiefer claimed that the records were taken away from her clients due to males being included in their sports.

Three of the four women in the case currently compete in NCAA Division 1 track and field programs.