Federal Appeals Court Tosses Anti-Trans Lawsuit Over School Sports
(CNN) -- A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a case brought by four cisgender high school girls in Connecticut who claimed the state's trans-inclusive sports policy violated their civil rights and deprived them of a "chance to be champions."The lawsuit, filed in 2020, had been seized on in recent years by state lawmakers and governors pushing anti-trans sports bans, with Republicans citing the claims made by the plaintiffs as they sought to prohibit trans girls and women from competing on teams that match their gender identity.A federal district court judge dismissed the case in April 2021, saying the girls' request to block the policy was moot because the two transgender athletes mentioned in the suit graduated in 2020 and there was "no indication" that the plaintiffs would again compete against trans athletes in the state.
The district court also said the plaintiffs lacked the procedural threshold -- known as standing -- needed to bring the suit.It its Friday ruling, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, writing in a scathing 29-page ruling that the plaintiffs' claim that the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference's policy put them at a competitive disadvantage was unfounded."All four plaintiffs regularly competed at state track championships as high school athletes, where plaintiffs had the opportunity to compete for state titles in different events.
