The US Supreme Court will hear two challenges to state laws restricting transgender participation in youth sports, marking the justices’ first return to transgender rights since last year’s decision in United States v. Skrmetti.

The court in Skrmetti upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for minors, but declined to answer whether transgender individuals constitute a quasi-suspect class deserving of higher judicial scrutiny.

The youth sports cases could give the court’s conservative majority an opportunity to answer that question and grant states wider discretion in imposing transgender-related regulations.

At issue in the cases being argued Tuesday is whether states may categorically bar transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams based on biological sex — and whether such policies should be reviewed deferentially, as the court held in Skrmetti, or subjected to heightened judicial review.

“What’s happening in Skrmetti, and what might happen here, is just saying, no, this isn’t sex discrimination at all even if the government is using sex,” said Yale Law School professor Douglas NeJaime. “And that is a real narrowing of decades of sex equality law.”

Skrmetti represented a setback for transgender rights, five years after the landmark victory in Bostock v. Clayton County for nationwide workplace protections for LGBTQ+ individuals under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Prior to Skrmetti, lower courts had been able to interpret Bostock broadly, Nejaime said. But last year’s decision limited Bostock’s reach, and the cases now before the court could result in further retrenchment on sex discrimination issues by the court.

“I hope that the court will see the stakes are really about sex equality,” said Kate Redburn, professor and director of Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law.

Joshua Block, senior counsel with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project who will argue on behalf of one of the transgender respondents, acknowledged the loss in Skrmetti made the job of defending transgender rights harder.

“Look, we’re not hiding the ball in acknowledging that we have an uphill battle here,” Block said.

But, he said, critics misunderstood why that case got to the high court in the first place.

“There is, I think, this false narrative that people only defending the rights of trans folks have been trying to propel the issue both in the courts and in the court of public opinion, and I think the opposite is true,” Block said. “Why were these laws passed in the first place? They were passed to roll back the rights of transgender people. And I think it’s been a wildly successful strategy.”

Wider Stakes

Block said it was a “surprise” the justices moved so quickly to take up the transgender girls sports cases just weeks after resolving Skrmetti on narrow grounds.

“Five of the justices in Skrmetti were unwilling to sign on to a broader decision,” Block said. “I think the question is, are they going to take the same approach here or not?”

NeJaime said there’s reason to think the court might not.

“You had three justices on the record in Skrmetti saying no suspect class for trans people,” he said. “You might have some justices like Chief Justice Roberts or Justice Kavanaugh that maybe aren’t ready to completely go there.”

Redburn said the conservative justices seemed eager for a second shot at the constitutional questions they dodged in Skrmetti. But, Redburn said, even a narrow ruling could encourage legislatures to justify discriminatory laws as grounded in biology rather than stereotypes.

“The fear here is that the court is going to authorize states to legislate in discriminatory ways against trans people, but also against women in general, based on biological differences,” Redburn said.

The cases being argued Tuesday arise from challenges to laws in West Virginia and Idaho. In West Virginia, the Fourth Circuit ruled the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act” likely violates Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination. In Idaho, the Ninth Circuit blocked enforcement of the nation’s first categorical ban on transgender women and girls in female sports, a law that also allows sex-verification challenges.

The Trump administration has urged the court to side with West Virginia and Idaho, as has the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, which is assisting the states.

John Bursch, senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy at ADF, said the ACLU’s attempt to moot the Idaho case shows they fear the majority may take a broader approach than it did in Skrmetti.

“Just based on their briefing, I expect the primary approach will be duck-and-cover,” Bursch said.

The cases fit within a wider slate of litigation in which ADF has argued for expanded state authority and limits on the reach of transgender rights, including in disputes involving religious employers and parental objections.

Bursch said the court’s June decision signals growing judicial support for those arguments.

“I think the Skrmetti case really puts a lot of wind in our sails,” Bursch said.

West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey said victory would be a holding that the legislature acted constitutionally — a decision, he said, that would allow other states to pass similar legislation modeled on West Virginia’s. The state’s arguments don’t seek to move any of the court’s analyses “beyond the athletic playing fields of this country,” he said.

A decision upholding the laws would immediately be felt in the more than two dozen states that already restrict transgender participation in youth sports. But it could also encourage the Trump administration to pursue litigation against other, largely Democrat-led states in an attempt to enforce the president’s February executive order on restricting transgender participation in women’s sports, according to Tres Cleveland, co-chair of the higher education practice group at Thompson Coburn.

“Other than immigration enforcement, this issue is the cornerstone of what the president ran on,” Cleveland said. “What he will do with this decision and how far the administration will go in feeling vindicated is yet to be seen.”

The cases are Little v. Hecox, U.S., No. 24-38 and West Virginia v. B.P.J., U.S., No. 24-43, set for argument on 1/13/26.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — When you think of living in the desert, winter sports may not be the first thing that comes to mind – but it does for some kids in New Mexico.

“I love that you get pucks and it’s competitive. My dream is to be the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup-winning goalie,” goalie Kieran Abhay said.

Abhay and his teammates on the New Mexico Warriors youth hockey team are all excited for the Winter Olympics, which start Feb. 6. Seeing pieces of themselves on the biggest athletic stage inspires them and others to keep playing.

“It sparks interest in the locker room about all, ‘My team is going to be your team and my players are better than yours,’ and it’s just it’s awesome to watch,” head coach Tom Terrel said.

It also reminds people in New Mexico that we have our own professional teams.

“I think more families are going to think, ‘Wow, we actually have hockey in Albuquerque,’ and once we kind of hammer that down, they’re going to roll over here and out to Rio Rancho,” said Kyle McKenzie, head coach of the New Mexico Ice Wolves.

Since the Ice Wolves have first calling New Mexico home in 2019, McKenzie said more and more people have been coming in, including families.

“We expect in a couple of years to double the size of everything on this side. Right now, we’re at about 110 kids. We hope to be at 300,” Terrel said.

The hockey hype is growing and impacting our local rinks, like The Mac in Rio Rancho, where the Warriors, Scorpions and now the University of New Mexico Lobos all play.

“It’s honestly brought in more business for the youth programs, just seeing these guys and then interacting with them on a daily basis, seeing them going to the locker room, seeing how they approach the game,” MAC employee Wayne McNatt said.

Hockey’s most recent expansion was the New Mexico Goatheads, which announced its name recently.

MORE:

Jill Schramm/MDN
Gene Yeater holds his Mentor of the Year award from Minot’s Companions for Children Friday, Jan. 9.

Gene Yeater’s positivity and willingness to go above and beyond caught the attention of Minot’s Companions for Children recently.

The Minot Air Force Base firefighter was named the organization’s Mentor of the Year for his mentorship of a middle school youth and his overall support for mentoring in the community.

“Gene is definitely someone who has supported us at our events. He brings mentoring to those events as well, and just kind of represents us as a whole for what we do,” said Kat Howard, community outreach manager at Companions for Children. “He’s very, very involved. And I think it just speaks for his care and mentoring by seeing how he shows up for his mentee. He plans a lot of different fun activities and keeps it engaging for his mentee, too. Those are just highlights that we look for when it comes to this award, just showing an above-and-beyond type of attitude toward mentoring.”

Yeater said the award was unexpected. He didn’t know he was in consideration for the annual honor until the organization handed him the award.

Yeater began volunteering with Companions for Children in November 2023. While working on his master’s degree, he took nonprofit leadership class in which he studied the leadership structure of Companions for Children. His interest in studying the organization came from his own positive experience as a young mentee with the Big Brothers program in California.

Upon completing his master’s, he signed up to volunteer with Companions for Children.

Yeater and his mentee share interests in a number of activities, including video games and sports. They engage in about three outings a month.

“We hang out. We play video games together. We go to the park. We’ll go to the arcade. We’ll watch movies together,” Yeater said. “We’ll spend a lot of time at the park, playing baseball, football. I have a whole bag full of sports equipment we’ll bring with us.”

Companions for Children also hosts a group event about once a month, such as an upcoming scavenger hunt, which Yeater and his mentee take part in.

Yeater has three children of his own, including one who is the same age as his mentee. He said it’s been helpful for him to see the similarities in what the two middle-school youth are going through as he helps them brainstorm solutions to problems they face.

Yeater said his relationship with his mentee has grown close over the past two years. They’ve become good friends who can talk about almost anything, he said. He would encourage others to consider becoming mentors for the opportunity to experience the satisfaction he has known.

“Part of it is getting to see the mentee grow and become a better person,” Yeater said. “I’ve seen him become a lot more confident.”

Minot’s Companions for Children has about 250 mentors across its five programs, Howard said. Some programs are school-based, such as Lunch Pals or Pen Pals. Another program is expected to begin soon that will be geared toward middle school girls.

Companions for Children will begin recruiting this week for an internship program through a partnership with Minot High’s Magic City Campus. Businesses willing to open their doors to high school seniors are invited to get involved. The fall semester each year features the World of Work Program, in which business people come into the classroom to engage with Minot High students.

But the largest program and the one in greatest need of additional mentors is the community-based program, in which Yeater participates. Men, in particular, are needed as mentors, Howard said. Mentees range in age from 6-18.

Companions for Children hosts a Mentor Mingle event each year to recognize the work of its volunteers. Mentors are encouraged to bring along a friend or family member who is interested in learning about possibly volunteering, Howard said. This year’s event will be May 7.

However, Howard added, “We are always recruiting for community-based (volunteers) at any time of the year.”

Yeater considers mentoring to be a valuable investment of time for anyone who enjoys being around children and youth.

“Getting to see your influence on the kids, I think, is probably the biggest benefit of it,” he said, “and getting to know that you’re really making a difference.”

January is National Mentoring Month

This month is National Mentoring Month, a designation that has been in place since 2002.

According to the nonprofit MENTOR, the organization and the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health launched National Mentoring Month to amplify, encourage and strengthen mentorship for young people. The goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of mentoring, recruit mentors and recruit organizations to engage their constituents in mentoring.

Within National Mentoring Month this year are: I am a Mentor Day, Jan. 6; International Mentoring Day, Jan. 17; Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service, Jan. 19; and Thank Your Mentor Day, Jan. 28.

– MDN STAFF

If things go according to plan, Saturday’s game between the BYU and Utah men’s basketball programs will be the first of many pitting Cougars coach Kevin Young against Utes coach Alex Jensen.

Young and Jensen have some similarities in their journeys toward becoming the head coach at their respective schools: they both have G League head coaching experience and they both spent more than a decade in the NBA as assistant coaches before landing in their current roles.

Young has one year of experience on Jensen in his current job — he is in his second year as BYU’s head coach, while Jensen is in his first season coaching his alma mater.

That familiarity with each other has fostered a healthy respect between the two coaches. On Saturday, Young’s No. 9 BYU team got the best of Jensen’s Utes, as the Cougars held off Utah, 89-84.

BYU (15-1, 3-0 Big 12) relied on its Big 3 — Robert Wright III, AJ Dybantsa and Richie Saunders — to carry the load.

Wright scored 23 points and added six assists, Saunders logged a double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds, along with three assists, and the freshman sensation Dybantsa contributed across the board with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, one block and a steal.

BYU led for more than 31 minutes against its rival, and the Cougars never trailed in the second half, though Utah climbed within one at one point.

“It’s hard to give up 89 points and win, right? And if you look at all the good teams in college that win, (they) are the teams that defend and rebound,” Jensen said, about two factors that prevented Utah from pulling the upset.

He was then complimentary about the program Young is building in Provo.

“BYU has done a great job. Kevin does a good job. It’s hard to have those guys be together. They’ve done a great job as an institution, and (BYU athletic director) Brian (Santiago), giving the resources to the program,” Jensen said. “Just like (Utah’s recent loss to No. 1) Arizona, it’s a great lesson for us to learn from. They play well together.”

Utah (8-8, 0-3 Big 12), for its part, had arguably its best overall effort of the season, perhaps only bested by a one-point win over Ole Miss during nonconference play.

Terrence Brown (25 points, five assists, three rebounds, two blocks) and Don McHenry (21 points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal) led a spirited Utah attack Saturday, while James Okonkwo’s energy and results — 13 rebounds, 4 points and two assists — helped the Utes keep pace in front of an electric crowd.

“I’ve known Alex for a long time,” Young said. “We’ve coached against each other (a) long time ago in the G League. We sort of broke into the NBA around the same time, and when I was with the Suns, he was with the Jazz.

“We had a ton of battles, so I’m very familiar with him. He’s a good person, but you still want to beat him in a game like that.”

BYU’s coach, too, was complimentary about the organization and work that Jensen has already put into revitalizing the Runnin’ Utes program.

“He’s smart, man. He’s a smart coach, and he’s just figuring it all out, all the idiosyncrasies. He joked before the game — in the NBA, you do the anthem and the coaches wave and you play the game; in college, before the game, you walk the line, shake, and he’s still trying to figure out if we’re supposed to do this,” Young said.

“He’s still figuring everything out, but he’s a smart guy, and (Utah basketball general manager) Wes Wilcox, too. They’re smart. They have a lot of experience, and this will be some fun games over the years between our groups.”

WASHINGTON — Becky Pepper-Jackson finished third in the discus throw in West Virginia last year though she was in just her first year of high school. Now a 15-year-old sophomore, Pepper-Jackson is aware that her upcoming season could be her last.

West Virginia has banned transgender girls like Pepper-Jackson from competing in girls and women’s sports, and is among the more than two dozen states with similar laws. Though the West Virginia law has been blocked by lower courts, the outcome could be different at the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, which has allowed multiple restrictions on transgender people to be enforced in the past year.

The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday in two cases over whether the sports bans violate the Constitution or the landmark federal law known as Title IX that prohibits sex discrimination in education. The second case comes from Idaho, where college student Lindsay Hecox challenged that state’s law.

Decisions are expected by early summer.

President Donald Trump’s Republican administration has targeted transgender Americans from the first day of his second term, including ousting transgender people from the military and declaring that gender is immutable and determined at birth.

Pepper-Jackson has become the face of the nationwide battle over the participation of transgender girls in athletics that has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans have leveraged the issue as a fight for athletic fairness for women and girls.

“I think it’s something that needs to be done,” Pepper-Jackson said in an interview with The Associated Press that was conducted over Zoom. “It’s something I’m here to do because … this is important to me. I know it’s important to other people. So, like, I’m here for it.”

She sat alongside her mother, Heather Jackson, on a sofa in their home just outside Bridgeport, a rural West Virginia community about 40 miles southwest of Morgantown, to talk about a legal fight that began when she was a middle schooler who finished near the back of the pack in cross-country races.

Pepper-Jackson has grown into a competitive discus and shot put thrower. In addition to the bronze medal in the discus, she finished eighth among shot putters.

She attributes her success to hard work, practicing at school and in her backyard, and lifting weights. Pepper-Jackson has been taking puberty-blocking medication and has publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade, though the Supreme Court’s decision in June upholding state bans on gender-affirming medical treatment for minors has forced her to go out of state for care.

Her very improvement as an athlete has been cited as a reason she should not be allowed to compete against girls.

“There are immutable physical and biological characteristic differences between men and women that make men bigger, stronger, and faster than women. And if we allow biological males to play sports against biological females, those differences will erode the ability and the places for women in these sports which we have fought so hard for over the last 50 years,” West Virginia’s attorney general, JB McCuskey, said in an AP interview. McCuskey said he is not aware of any other transgender athlete in the state who has competed or is trying to compete in girls or women’s sports.

Despite the small numbers of transgender athletes, the issue has taken on outsize importance. The NCAA and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees banned transgender women from women’s sports after Trump signed an executive order aimed at barring their participation.

The public generally is supportive of the limits. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in October 2025 found that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults “strongly” or “somewhat” favored requiring transgender children and teenagers to only compete on sports teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with, while about 2 in 10 were “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed and about one-quarter did not have an opinion.

About 2.1 million adults, or 0.8%, and 724,000 people age 13 to 17, or 3.3%, identify as transgender in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.

Those allied with the administration on the issue paint it in broader terms than just sports, pointing to state laws, Trump administration policies and court rulings against transgender people.

“I think there are cultural, political, legal headwinds all supporting this notion that it’s just a lie that a man can be a woman,” said John Bursch, a lawyer with the conservative Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom that has led the legal campaign against transgender people. “And if we want a society that respects women and girls, then we need to come to terms with that truth. And the sooner that we do that, the better it will be for women everywhere, whether that be in high school sports teams, high school locker rooms and showers, abused women’s shelters, women’s prisons.”

But Heather Jackson offered different terms to describe the effort to keep her daughter off West Virginia’s playing fields.

“Hatred. It’s nothing but hatred,” she said. “This community is the community du jour. We have a long history of isolating marginalized parts of the community.”

Pepper-Jackson has seen some of the uglier side of the debate on display, including when a competitor wore a T-shirt at the championship meet that said, “Men Don’t Belong in Women’s Sports.”

“I wish these people would educate themselves. Just so they would know that I’m just there to have a good time. That’s it. But it just, it hurts sometimes, like, it gets to me sometimes, but I try to brush it off,” she said.

One schoolmate, identified as A.C. in court papers, said Pepper-Jackson has herself used graphic language in sexually bullying her teammates.

Asked whether she said any of what is alleged, Pepper-Jackson said, “I did not. And the school ruled that there was no evidence to prove that it was true.”

The legal fight will turn on whether the Constitution’s equal protection clause or the Title IX anti-discrimination law protects transgender people.

The court ruled in 2020 that workplace discrimination against transgender people is sex discrimination, but refused to extend the logic of that decision to the case over health care for transgender minors.

The court has been deluged by dueling legal briefs from Republican- and Democratic-led states, members of Congress, athletes, doctors, scientists and scholars.

The outcome also could influence separate legal efforts seeking to bar transgender athletes in states that have continued to allow them to compete.

If Pepper-Jackson is forced to stop competing, she said she will still be able to lift weights and continue playing trumpet in the school concert and jazz bands.

“It will hurt a lot, and I know it will, but that’s what I’ll have to do,” she said.

The new playbook: Why personalized coaching is taking over youth sports

The new playbook: Why personalized coaching is taking over youth sports

Apr 14, 2025

Training on Your Terms

Apr 14, 2025

A Win-Win Era for Sports

Apr 14, 2025

​COPYRIGHT 2025 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.