Judge Dismisses Female Student Athletes’ Case in Connecticut

photo via ADF

The girls plan to appeal the judge's decision which would effectively end women's sports state-wide

On Sunday, a federal judge dismissed a challenge brought by Connecticut female student athletes against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference policy allowing biological males who identify as female to compete in girls’ athletic events. The case, Soule v. Connecticut Association of Schools, was brought by Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell, Alanna Smith, and Ashley Nicoletti — student athletes who were deprived of honors and opportunities because of the policy. According to the ADF, who is providing legal representation for the girls, they plan to appeal the dismissal. 

In a statement released by the ADF, the plaintiffs denounced the decision:

“Today’s decision is disheartening for athletes like me who train hard every day to be our physical and mental best at the starting block,” said a third athlete, Alanna Smith. “Biological unfairness does not go away because of what someone believes about gender identity. Biology—not identity—is what matters on the field, and that’s why I will continue to stand up to restore fairness to my sport.”

Selina Soule, the lead plaintiff in the case, stated, “During all four years of high school, I worked incredibly hard to shave fractions of a second off of my time, only to lose to athletes who had an unfair physical advantage. I don’t want any other girl to experience the pain and heartbreak I had to go through, and I will continue to stand up for fairness in women’s sports for as long as it takes.”

Last year, District Judge Robert Chatigny ordered the plaintiffs to refer to the male usurpers as “female,” stating:

“This isn’t a case involving males who have decided that they want to run in girls’ events. This is a case about girls who say that transgender girls should not be allowed to run in girls’ events.”

Despite the judge imposing an unconstitutional limitation on freedom of speech and freedom of belief, and expressing a clear bias against the girls’ case from the outset, he refused to recuse himself from the case. Instead, he unilaterally decided that he had the right to end women’s and girls’ sports in the state.

Across the country, state bills have been popping up in an attempt to preserve Title IX and save female sports.  Bills have already passed in Idaho, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama as of late last week.

Polls show that two-thirds (67 percent) of American voters nationwide think boys and men who say they identify as transgender should not be allowed to compete in girls’ and women’s athletics.

On April 7th, the Department of Education announced that there will be a public hearing on the enforcement of Title IX in response to WoLF’s Petition for Rulemaking. The WoLF petition requested that the agency affirm that Title IX will be enforced on the basis of sex, as detailed by the Office of Civil Rights in January, rather than “gender identity.”