A federal appeals court is taking a second look at a lawsuit filed by female athletes in Connecticut who are protesting the state’s rules that required them to compete against boys who claimed to be girls.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case on Tuesday, focusing on whether the former high school athletes have the right to sue, according to ABC News.
The suit was originally filed in 2020 and dismissed by a federal district court, Connecticut Insider reported. A three-judge panel of the appellate court upheld that ruling in December.
However, in February, the full court agreed to rehear the appeal, according to The Associated Press.
“Every woman deserves the respect and dignity that comes with having an equal opportunity to excel and win in athletics, and ADF remains committed to protecting the future of women’s sports,” Christiana Kiefer, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the athletes, said then.
The athletes suing are hoping for a different outcome this time around.
“I’m hoping that the court will realize how important this issue is, and they will restore fairness to women’s sports,” plaintiff Alanna Smith said, according to Fox News.
“I’m also very optimistic that fairness will be restored to women’s sports, and I hope that we can keep women’s sports women’s sports,” she added.
Should female athletes be forced to compete against males?
Yes: 0% (0 Votes)
No: 100% (10 Votes)
The athletes — Smith, Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell and Ashley Nicoletti — say they were harmed by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s policy, according to ABC.
“They trained hard to shave fractions of seconds off their race times so they could compete in state and regional meets, stand atop the winners’ podium, and perhaps even secure college athletic scholarships and gainful employment beyond,” court papers said.
“Yet those dreams were dashed, as the policy forced them to compete — and lose — to biological males.”
Mitchell says she lost out on four state championships because she had to compete against two males, according to Courthouse News Service.
But the state frames them as sore losers.
“Nothing about track results would affect the plaintiffs’ life prospects,” said Peter Murphy, the CIAC’s attorney. “The plaintiffs are alleging they ran a race and lost, and they don’t like the rules.”
John Bursch of ADF argued in court on Tuesday for the case to be sent to a trial court, according to CNS.
