Earlier this month on March 18th, the Minnesota Court of Appeals sent the lawsuit brought by transgender athlete JayCee Cooper against USA Powerlifting (USAPL) back to a trial court to determine whether she was banned from competing in the women’s category because of her transgender status or because of physical advantages.
Cooper’s legal battle with the USAPL first began in 2019 when, prior to the Minnesota Women’s State Championship, she received a notice from the USAPL that she would be ineligible to compete in the women’s division.[2] Cooper then filed a discrimination complaint with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights against the USAPL and Powerlifting Minnesota (a branch of the USAPL for the state of Minnesota).
In February 2023, a Minnesota District Court ruled in Cooper’s favor and found that the USAPL had violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) and discriminated against Cooper. Under the MHRA, places of public accommodations and businesses cannot deny full and equal participation to people based on their sex or sexual orientation.[3] At the time, the court stated bluntly that “performance advantage is not a reason recognized under the MHRA to discriminate because of sexual orientation or sex.” As a result of the ruling, the USAPL was forced to cease doing business in Minnesota. Shortly after the initial February 2023 ruling came down, the USAPL was forced to move their “2023 Midwest Regionals” competition from Minnesota to Wisconsin. In addition, the USAPL was unable to host smaller local events in the state or even accept new members from the state following the ruling. The USAPL’s president, Larry Maile, made it clear at the time of the decision that he and the organization disagree with the decision and would explore all options to combat the decision, including appeal. The USAPL had sought to include transgender athletes into their competitions in 2020 by offering a third division that is open to any and all lifters called the “MX” division. However, the District Court found that such a separated category is “exactly what the MHRA prohibits.”[4]
This month, however, Judge Matthew Johnson of the Minnesota Court of Appeals stated that the District Court had “erred” in its February 2023 ruling that the USAPL had violated the MHRA by excluding Cooper from the women’s division back in 2019.[5] In his opinion, Judge Johnson stated that:
“The district court reasoned that USAPL has no evidence of a legitimate business purpose because USAPL does not have a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for its decision…[but] we have concluded above that USAPL’s asserted reason for its decision — that it excluded Cooper from the women’s division of its competitions because she has male physiology, which would give her an unfair competitive advantage over athletes with female physiology — is a non-discriminatory reason.”[6]
Therefore, the USAPL’s exclusion of Cooper from the women’s division of its competitions “is neither per se discrimination, facially discriminatory, nor discrimination as a matter of law” according to the court.[7]
The USAPL’s lead attorney, Ansis Viksnins, is confident that the USAPL will prevail should the case go before a jury:
“USA Powerlifting did not exclude Ms. Cooper because of her gender identity…USA Powerlifting excluded her from competing in the women’s division because of her physiology. She was born biologically male and went through puberty as a male, and as a result, she has significant strength advantages over other people who would be competing in the women’s division.”[8]
Following the ruling, the USAPL has publicly stated that they can now continue doing business in Minnesota and that Minnesota residents can once again join the organization as members.
The court’s decision comes at a time when the participation of transgender athletes in sports is more contentious than ever, as one week prior to the ruling a group of college athletes sued the NCAA for violating their Title IX rights by allowing a transgender woman, Lia Thomas, to compete against them in the 2022 NCAA national championships.[9]
[1] Photograph: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/03/18/minnesota-appeals-court-overturns-usa-powerlifting-transgender-athlete-ruling
[2] https://www.genderjustice.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/62-cv-21-211.pdf?fbclid=PAAaYgVQm70voYW9INtGEIVTgUN_INo9vbFtusT-cxGJ7whoQLVCt6P41nKRA
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/mar/19/appeals-court-sides-with-usa-powerlifting-in-defea/
[6]https://www.mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/Appellate/Court%20of%20Appeals/Special%20Releases/OPa230373-031824.pdf
[7] Id.
[8] https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/discrimination-lawsuit-transgender-athlete-sent-back-to-minnesota-trial-court/
[9] Id.
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