U.S. bishops join advocates in backing Supreme Court bid to protect women’s sports

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 23, 2025 / 13:27 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has joined legislatures, scientists, female athletes, the U.S. Department of Justice, and dozens of advocacy groups to support the protection of women’s sports. 

The bishops submitted an amicus brief on Sept. 18 urging the Supreme Court to uphold state bans on biological men participating in women’s sports. 

The submission was added to the more than 50 friend-of-the-court briefs put forward ahead of the upcoming State of West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox cases. 

The brief is in support of the petitioners in the two court cases, which both arose from lawsuits by young men who identify as females and sued against the states’ bans on boys competing in girls’ sports.

In the brief, the USCCB reported it submitted it to address “the legal errors in the lower courts’ decisions and the disastrous practical effects those decisions could have on Catholic institutions.”

West Virginia v. B.P.J. arose from a lawsuit filed by a then-11-year-old boy against the state over its Save Women’s Sports Act after he was not allowed to join a female-only league. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the law, claiming its enforcement would harm the boy “on the basis of sex.”

The Little v. Hecox case included a male athlete who sued the state over its Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals similarly upheld a block on the law in 2023. Both cases will be heard by the Supreme Court starting in October to decide if states have the right to ban males from participating in female sports leagues.

“These cases ask whether the Equal Protection Clause or Title IX forbids the states to create female-only athletic competitions,” the bishops wrote. “Neither does, and any other answer could prove catastrophic to Catholic institutions.”

“Laws creating female-only sports pass muster. Because of the valuable lessons that sports impart, states advance an important governmental objective when they ensure that girls and women can compete.”

“These laws serve, and are substantially related to, that objective: Given the inherent athletic advantages that males possess, creating female-only teams ensures that girls and women can safely and fairly compete.”

Since Catholic organizations participate in many federal programs, they “may have to decline this funding if Title IX is interpreted to require allowing males to compete in female sports,” the bishops explained. “Forcing Catholic schools out of federal programs will harm students nationwide.”

“If Catholic schools were forced to allow males to compete on or against their female-only teams, they would need to abandon athletics programs or stop accepting federal funding,” the bishops continued. “That is because allowing such competition would undermine fundamental Catholic teachings regarding the immutable, God-given differences between the sexes.”