Minn. Supreme Court rules USA Powerlifting discriminated against transgender weightlifter
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In an opinion published Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court is largely siding with a transgender weightlifter who sued USA Powerlifting after the organization banned her from competing in its women’s division.
The decision comes after a lengthy legal battle. Athlete JayCee Cooper alleged that USA Powerlifting, a national governing body also known as USAPL, violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act when it prohibited her from competing as a woman.
In a December 2018 email, the group’s committee chair told Cooper “Male-to-female transgenders are not allowed to compete as females in our static strength sport as it is a direct competitive advantage.”
In early 2021, Cooper sued USA Powerlifting, alleging multiple violations of the Minnesota Human Rights Act. In 2023, a Ramsey County judge ruled in Cooper’s favor. But in a split decision, the Minnesota Court of Appeals partly overturned Judge Patrick Diamond's ruling, so Cooper took her case to Minnesota’s highest court.
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In the 35-page unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, the court ruled that USAPL’s policy expressly prohibiting transgender women from competing in the women’s division is “direct evidence of discrimination based on sexual orientation under the [Minnesota Human Rights Act’s] prohibition against discrimination in business and places of public accommodation." Justice Theodora Gaïtas, who joined the court in August — did not take part in the decision.
“This is a huge win, and we are so proud,” said Jess Braverman, the legal director of Gender Justice and one of Cooper’s attorneys during a Wednesday morning news conference. “As to discrimination in public accommodations, the court found USA Powerlifting liable for discrimination. You cannot bar transgender women from women’s sports teams.”
The ruling was not a clean sweep for Cooper. While siding with Cooper in her public accommodations discrimination claim, the court left the door open to USAPL’s defense that it has a “legitimate business purpose” under the MHRA in prohibiting transgender women from competing in its women’s division. It’s unclear whether Gender Justice will litigate the business discrimination claim on Cooper’s behalf.
“[T]he reasons USA Powerlifting offers for its policy give rise to a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether USA Powerlifting’s goal of ensuring fair competition satisfies that defense,” Hudson writes.
While Braverman downplayed that part of the ruling, Ansis Viksnins, an attorney for USAPL, said in an interview with MPR News that he’s looking forward to presenting his client’s case to a Ramsey County jury.
“We’ve said all along, throughout this long litigation, that the reason for USAPL’s policy is not because of Ms. Cooper’s gender identity, but because of her physiology, the fact that she was born biologically male, went through puberty as a male and therefore has inherent strength advantages, which are critical in the sport of powerlifting.”
USAPL former president Larry Maile added that the decision could prevent the organization from assigning athletes to competition categories for age, weight class, and performance ability.
“The outcome of this decision is that a person could claim that they are a member of that category, that they should be able to compete in that category, and we won’t be able to exclude them.”
Maile also noted that the Minnesota Court of Appeals had lifted an injunction that temporarily blocked USAPL from doing business in the state, and the Minnesota Supreme Court did not address it.
“We are still in business in Minnesota, and business is essentially unchanged,” Maile said.
Minnesota political leaders didn’t hesitate to comment on the decision. State Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, who’s an adviser to Gender Justice, said at the news conference that the court’s decision affirms the right of transgender athletes to fully participate in sports.
“This case has always been about something fundamental to who we are as Minnesotans, that we believe in the right to live free from discrimination.”
Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, who’s seeking the Republican nomination for governor, immediately blasted the decision as part of “Tim Walz and Keith Ellison’s war against women.”
“This isn’t complicated. Men are men, and women are women, and no decision by a court can undo obvious biological reality,” Robbins said.
In her own statement, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said the court’s decision is a setback for the “hard-won protections” for female athletes under Title IX. “House Republicans are ready to act in the first weeks of next year’s legislative session to make clear that girls’ sports are for girls,” Demuth said.
The business discrimination claims now return to district court, but the case will be assigned to a different judge following the death of Judge Diamond in February.
Use the audio player above to listen to a conversation with MPR News reporter Matt Sepic about the court decision.
