Trans weightlifters can compete against women, US court rules

Transgender athletes must be allowed to compete in the women’s division of USA Powerlifting following a decision in a discrimination court case.

Weightlifter JayCee Cooper won her lawsuit against the organisation after claiming it violated Minnesota state’s Human Rights Act after she was barred from competing against women.

The federation was ordered to “cease and desist from all unfair discriminatory practices” related to sexual orientation and gender identity and reverse its former policy of barring transgender athletes within two weeks, according to the ruling.

“The harm is in making a person pretend to be something different, the implicit message being that who they are is less than. That is the very essence of separation and segregation, and it is what the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) prohibits.”