"Our daughter just wants the same chance as other kids to make friends and play on the team she loves," said one parent plaintiff."Today's ruling gives her the opportunity to do that."Transgender Utah girls wishing to compete in high school sports this fall may now do so after a judge on Friday temporarily blocked a state law prohibiting trans student-athletes from joining teams that match their gender identity.
The defendants—the Utah High School Activities Association, Granite and Jordan school districts, and their superintendents—had argued that the ban does not discriminate against girls because it targets"biological boys." The court's injunction blocks enforcement of the ban while remaining litigation in the case proceeds through state courts.
In a written statement to the court, plaintiff Jenny Roe, a 16-year-old who will be a senior in the Granite School District this academic year,she played volleyball as a junior and would like to do so again, as well as try out for the basketball team. "If I cannot play with my team," added Roe,"I am worried that I will not even want to go to classes or to school."Now that the ban is on hold... the state's back-up process for vetting transgender girl athletes will move forward. Under that, a commission will make decisions on which transgender athletes can compete.