Tallahassee, FL – In a decision last week, U.S. District Judge Roy Altman upheld a controversial Florida law prohibiting student transgender athletes who are biological males from participating in women’s and girls’ sports teams. This ruling came on Monday as part of a 39-page decision in response to a lawsuit challenging the 2021 law.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a transgender high school volleyball player from Broward County, identified as D.N., against Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. and the State Board of Education. Attorneys for the transgender girl filed the lawsuit in June 2021, after the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the ban. Judge Altman, in his ruling, stated that the law did not infringe upon constitutional equal-protection and due-process rights, nor did it violate Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs.
The state’s attorneys argued that the law, known as SB1028, aims to protect athletic opportunities for biological females in interscholastic and college sports, barring transgender athletes. They contended that the participation of transgender females who are biological males could threaten these opportunities. Judge Altman echoed this sentiment, recognizing the promotion of women’s equality in athletics as a significant governmental interest.
Altman’s decision emphasized that the law’s gender-based classifications are based on inherent physical differences between the sexes, not stereotypes. He noted, “In requiring schools to designate sports-team memberships on the basis of biological sex, the statute adopts the uncontroversial proposition that most men and women do have different (and innate) physical attributes.”
The judge also compared the law to others that restrict certain activities based on specific characteristics, like laws prohibiting the blind from flying airplanes or the HIV-infected from donating blood. He distinguished SB 1028 from laws that historically discriminated against African Americans in various social aspects, stating that the Florida law does not create a caste-like system that demeans transgender girls because of their gender identity.
While upholding the law, Judge Altman left open the possibility for a revised lawsuit addressing equal-protection and Title IX issues. The decision marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over transgender rights and participation in sports, balancing these rights with the interests of preserving athletic opportunities for biological females.
The ruling potentially has wide-reaching implications, not only in Florida but across the United States, as other states grapple with similar legislation.
