WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases seeking to defend laws ensuring male athletes do not compete in girls’ and women’s sports to protect fairness, safety, and opportunities for female athletes.

The cases from Idaho (Little v. Hecox) and West Virginia (West Virginia v. B.P.J.) align closely with Petersen v. DOE, filed by Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, seeking to lift a lower court injunction blocking Arizona’s Save Women’s Sports Act, which prevents male athletes from participating in girls’ sports. While the U.S. Supreme Court did not take up the Arizona case, the Idaho and West Virginia cases will likely affect its outcome.

In Little v. Hecox, Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) ally Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is co-counsel with the Idaho Attorney General defending the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, reserving female sports for biological females. A male student challenged the law after being barred from joining Boise State University’s women’s track team.

In West Virginia, ADF is representing female athletes seeking to overturn the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to stop a law protecting fairness in women’s sports. A middle-school male athlete competing on a girls’ track team finished ahead of nearly 300 girls in cross-country and track events. ADF attorneys representing Lainey Armistead, a former college soccer player, joined the lawsuit to defend the state’s law.

The Supreme Court accepted the cases on July 3, 2025, with arguments set for the 2025-26 term and decisions expected by summer 2026.