Supreme Court Upholds States’ Authority to Protect Girls’ Sports

For Immediate Release:
June 30, 2026

For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230

(Montgomery, Ala) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall celebrated today’s opinion issued by the U.S. Supreme Court in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. BPJ affirming that states may protect girls’ sports by restricting participation to biological females. 

“Common sense won again. Alabama stood strong for our female athletes, and the Supreme Court agreed. This is about fairness. Our daughters worked too hard, sacrificed too much, and dreamed too big to be pushed aside. The science is clear and Alabama will not apologize for protecting the opportunities our girls have earned. Alabama led the way, and today, that leadership paid off,” Attorney General Marshall said.

In its opinion, the Supreme Court considered challenges to laws in Idaho and West Virginia that use biological sex rather than gender identity to classify girls’ sports teams in public schools. In 2023, the Alabama Legislature enacted a similar law that applies to all public schools, including colleges and universities.

Last year, Attorney General Marshall co-led a 27-state brief in support of Idaho and West Virginia at the Supreme Court. Attorney General Marshall was also successful in halting the Biden administration’s attempted expansion of Title IX regulations, which would have allowed males in female-only spaces such as locker rooms and bathrooms.

-30-