A transsexual athlete’s complaint has been returned to a trial court in Minnesota after an appeals court determined whether her gender identity prevented her from being unlawfully denied entry to women’s competitions.
JayCee Cooper, a trans woman, sued USA Powerlifting in 2021 after the organization denied her 2018 demand for membership. She claimed that the organization was in violation of the gender identity provisions of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
A district court judge determined that Cooper had been the subject of discrimination the next year. USA Powerlifting appealed, and Cooper cross-appealed. In its extensive Monday determination, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed, reversed, and sent up parts of the case.
According to Judge Matthew Johnson, “The circumstantial evidence on which Cooper relies, when viewed in a light most favorable to her, is sufficient to allow a fact-finder to infer conclusions and determine that USAPL excluded her from its competitions because of her sexual orientation (i.e., transgender status).”
Gender Justice Legal Director Jess Braverman, an attorney for Cooper, said, “We agree that it’s illegal to discriminate against transgender people in Minnesota, but we think it’s crystal clear that that’s what USA Powerlifting did in this case, so we don’t agree with the court’s ultimate conclusion that the case needs to go back for a trial, and we’re currently weighing all of our options.”
Cooper, according to Braverman, may petition the Minnesota Supreme Court to review the decision or return to the lower court to continue arguing the case.
Ansis Viksnins, USA Powerlifting’s lead attorney, welcomed the decision as having “corrected some of the errors” made by the lower judge and has given their side an opportunity “to show our side of the story” to a judge.
“USA Powerlifting did not remove Ms. Cooper because of her gender identity,” Viksnins said. “Due to her anatomy, USA Powerlifting prevented her from competing in the women’s division. She was born male and went through puberty as a man, giving her significant advantages over other women who would be competing in the women’s division.”
Cooper requested USA Powerlifting for a “therapeutic-use exemption” to get spironolactone, a medication prescribed to treat her gender dysphoria, “but JayCee was denied because she’s transgender,” Braverman said.
She withdrew a complaint to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in 2019 before filing a lawsuit. According to Braverman, the department supported Cooper by filing an amicus brief in the lawsuit.
Transgender people’s participation in sports has become a contentious issue in schools and private clubs across the nation. Transgender people are prohibited from participating in high school and collegiate sports in many Republican-led states.
Last week, a group of college athletes, including swimmer Riley Gaines, sued the NCAA, alleging the organization violated their Title IX rights by allowing Lia Thomas, who is a transgender woman, to compete in the 2022 national championships.
