{"id":219532,"date":"2026-01-12T17:54:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T22:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?post_type=campaign&#038;p=219532"},"modified":"2026-01-12T17:54:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T22:54:53","slug":"more-than-a-game","status":"publish","type":"campaign","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/campaigns-initiatives\/more-than-a-game","title":{"rendered":"More Than A Game"},"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-219532","campaign","type-campaign","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"page_type":"campaign","color_scheme":"dark","hide_on_campaigns_landing_page":false,"hero_image":219687,"mobile_hero_image":219771,"hero_video":"","hide_mute_button":[],"description_header":"","description_text":"This year, SCOTUS will determine whether states can ban transgender students from youth sports \u2014 but the ACLU and women\u2019s sports stars are teaming up in support of trans youth, their families, and their right to be themselves.","cta_type":"custom_cta","email_cta_header":"","email_cta_text":"","custom_cta_header":"Show Your Support: Our Freedom Is More Than A Game","custom_cta_text":"Add your name alongside many star athletes, and together we will be an unwavering force that SCOTUS cannot ignore.","cta_button_text":"Add Your Name","cta_button_link":"https:\/\/action.aclu.org\/petition\/tell-supreme-court-our-freedom-more-game","secondary_cta_text":"","secondary_cta_link":"","fast_facts_title":"","fast_facts":[{"fact_icon":"","fact_header":"Fewer than 10","fact_text":"of NCAA\u2019s 500k athletes are transgender"},{"fact_icon":"","fact_header":"27 ","fact_text":"states have banned transgender women and girls from playing school sports since 2020"}],"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"This year, SCOTUS will determine whether states can ban transgender students from youth sports \u2014 but the ACLU and women\u2019s sports stars are teaming up in support of trans youth, their families, and their right to be themselves."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"youtube","youtube":{"oembed-url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4sb9aOvEfX0&feature=youtu.be","cover-image":219850}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"SCOTUS\u2019 Decision Could Deny Freedom and Safety to Transgender Youth","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"A Flurry of Laws That Target Few and Protect No One ","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h3","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"Over the past five years, transgender youth and their families have endured legal attacks that limit their freedoms and their ability to be themselves, including bans that prevent them from playing school sports with their friends. These tactics are generally carried out by lawmakers for political advantage and affect some of the most marginalized individuals in the country's communities. Among these young people is Becky Pepper-Jackson. As the only openly transgender athlete in the state of West Virginia, she has become the focus of many attacks by politicians in the state.\r\n\r\nIn 2021, West Virginia passed a law categorically banning transgender girls like Becky from participating in all school sports, codifying trans people\u2019s exclusion and unequal treatment. Though these laws target trans people \u2014 who make up just a fraction of participants in school sports programs \u2014 they affect all women and girls, by enabling any school official or adult to question and harass young women and girls who try to participate in school activities."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"These Unconstitutional Attacks on Trans Rights Harm All Women \u2014 But We\u2019re Fighting Back","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h3","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"We filed a lawsuit on behalf of Becky and her mother Heather challenging the ban as unlawful and unconstitutional under Title IX \u2014 the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in public schools \u2014 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Now the legal battle has made its way all the way to the Supreme Court, whose decision could have far-reaching repercussions for trans and cis-gender women alike. <b>The enforcement of those laws would open the door to gross scrutiny and harassment of all women, and set a precedent for state overreach.<\/b>\r\n\r\nThis is about more than school sports \u2014 trans children deserve the same equality, dignity, and opportunities as their peers. Together with a roster of sports stars, the ACLU is advocating for the freedom of all children to be able to live their authentic lives.\r\n\r\nThis is More Than A Game."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"image-video-collection","image-video-collection":{"":null,"title":"Meet The Team","description":"","images-videos":[{"title":"Benito Skinner","media-type":"image","image":219696,"video":null,"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null,"credit":"","caption":"","description":"Comedian, actor, and activist","link-url":"","lightbox":true,"social-share-text":"","social-share-link":""},{"title":"Brianna Turner","media-type":"image","image":219698,"video":null,"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null,"credit":"","caption":"","description":"WNBA player","link-url":"","lightbox":true,"social-share-text":"","social-share-link":""},{"title":"Chase Strangio","media-type":"image","image":219699,"video":null,"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null,"credit":"","caption":"","description":"ACLU attorney and LGBTQ rights advocate","link-url":"","lightbox":true,"social-share-text":"","social-share-link":""},{"title":"Kara Young","media-type":"image","image":219703,"video":null,"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null,"credit":"","caption":"","description":"Actress and activist","link-url":"","lightbox":true,"social-share-text":"","social-share-link":""},{"title":"Megan Rapinoe","media-type":"image","image":219705,"video":null,"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null,"credit":"","caption":"","description":"Former NWSL player and activist","link-url":"","lightbox":true,"social-share-text":"","social-share-link":""},{"title":"Elliot Page","media-type":"image","image":219701,"video":null,"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null,"credit":"","caption":"","description":"Actor and activist","link-url":"","lightbox":true,"social-share-text":"","social-share-link":""},{"title":" Sue Bird","media-type":"image","image":219709,"video":null,"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null,"credit":"","caption":"","description":"Former WNBA player","link-url":"","lightbox":true,"social-share-text":"","social-share-link":""},{"title":"Willy Chavarria","media-type":"image","image":219707,"video":null,"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null,"credit":"","caption":"","description":"Fashion designer &amp; ACLU Artist Ambassador for LGBTQ+ Immigrants' Rights","link-url":"","lightbox":true,"social-share-text":"","social-share-link":""},{"title":"Naomi Watts","media-type":"image","image":219713,"video":null,"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null,"credit":"","caption":"","description":"Actress, producer, and activist","link-url":"","lightbox":true,"social-share-text":"","social-share-link":""}],"display-type":"carousel","images-per-row":3,"grid-type":"masonry","crop-size":"square","display-text":false}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"About Becky Pepper-Jackson","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"Becky is a high school sophomore in West Virginia, and she loves competing in track and field events with her friends.Four years ago, as she was preparing to begin middle school, West Virginia passed a law banning transgender girls from participating in school sports. So Becky and her mom sued, arguing that West Virginia's law violated both the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution's 14th Amendment and Title IX as applied to her."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"content_link","content_link":{"":null,"content_link_field_group":{"url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/lgbtq-rights\/whats-at-stake-as-the-supreme-court-takes-up-transgender-sports-bans","":null,"title_override":"","image_override":"","hide_description":false,"description":"Becky is a student in West Virginia who is starting high school. Three years ago, as Becky was preparing to begin middle school, West Virginia...","title":"What\u2019s at Stake as the Supreme Court Takes Up Transgender Sports Bans | American Civil Liberties Union","og-title":"What\u2019s at Stake as the Supreme Court Takes Up Transgender Sports Bans | ACLU","og-image":219542,"og-site-name":"American Civil Liberties Union"},"card_variant":"horizontal","hide_image":false,"width":"standard","alignment":"left"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"As a result of an injunction issued by the lower courts, she has been able to participate in middle school cross-country and track and field for the past four years. But the states have pushed back against her case and brought the legal battle to the Supreme Court, which will hear whether banning her from girls sports at her school is unlawful and unconstitutional."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"How You Can Help","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"content_collection","content_collection":{"":null,"content_links":[{"content_link_field_group":{"url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/cases\/bpj-v-west-virginia-state-board-education","":null,"title_override":"Learn More About West Virginia v. B.P.J.","image_override":"","hide_description":false,"description":"The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges that banning Becky from participating in school sports with other girls just because she is transgender is unconstitutional and violates Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funding.","title":"West Virginia v. B.P.J. | American Civil Liberties Union","og-title":"West Virginia v. B.P.J. | American Civil Liberties Union","og-image":219539,"og-site-name":"American Civil Liberties Union"}},{"content_link_field_group":{"url":"https:\/\/act.aclu.org\/a\/bpj-hecox-rally","":null,"title_override":"Join The BPJ & Hecox Rally at SCOTUS","image_override":"","hide_description":false,"description":"Together We Win: Fight for the T in Team. And we need you with us.","title":"Together We Win: Fight For the T in Team: BPJ & Hecox Rally at SCOTUS | PeoplePower.org","og-title":"Together We Win: Fight For the T in Team: BPJ & Hecox Rally at SCOTUS","og-image":192949,"og-site-name":"PeoplePower.org"}},{"content_link_field_group":{"url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2025","":null,"title_override":"Keep Track of Other Attacks on LGBTQ Rights","image_override":"","hide_description":false,"description":"Choose a state on the map to show the different bills targeting LGBTQ Rights and take action.","title":"Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures in 2025 | American Civil Liberties Union","og-title":"Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures in 2025 | American Civil Liberties Union","og-image":198206,"og-site-name":"American Civil Liberties Union"}}],"display_type":"grid","hide_images":false}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Frequently Asked Questions ","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"accordion","accordion":{"turn_on_faq":true,"list_style":false,"accordion-title":"","description":"","accordion-items":[{"title":"What issues are before the court in West Virginia vs. Becky Pepper-Jackson?","content":"<ul>\r\n \t<li>The issue in the case is whether states can categorically exclude all transgender girls and women from participating on girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports teams \u2014 a violation of the Equal Protection Clause, or Title IX.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>While the questions before the Court are limited to the application of Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause to categorical bans on transgender athletic inclusion, we expect the states to ask the Court to issue a broad ruling allowing for \u2014 and potentially requiring \u2014 discrimination against transgender people in many more contexts.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","image_video_field_group":{"image_video_options":"image","image_group":{"image":"","caption":"","credit":"","link-settings":"none","url":""},"video_group":{"video":null,"cover_image":null,"video_orientation":"standard"},"youtube_group":{"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null}}},{"title":"How could the Supreme Court rule in this case?","content":"<ul>\r\n \t<li>The Court will determine whether states can ban transgender students from youth sports, and if all students share the same rights under Title IX and the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. The court's ruling could be limited to the context of athletics, but it also could implicate a broader range of rights for transgender people and possibly others.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Many of the recent political and legal attacks on transgender people have focused on areas of the law like access to public bathrooms or the sex designation that goes on documents like driver\u2019s licenses and passports. Depending on the precise language of the Court\u2019s ruling, it could implicate our fight for equality in these contexts and potentially many more, like our access to health care and our safety while incarcerated.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>This is why, even though the number of transgender students in athletics is small, their freedom to play has become a central focus of politicians who want to push transgender people out of public life altogether. Their hope is that a Supreme Court ruling against the rights of girls like Becky will allow them to discriminate against transgender people in many more contexts and, eventually, deny us our freedom to be ourselves entirely.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","image_video_field_group":{"image_video_options":"image","image_group":{"image":"","caption":"","credit":"","link-settings":"none","url":""},"video_group":{"video":null,"cover_image":null,"video_orientation":"standard"},"youtube_group":{"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null}}},{"title":"Could the Supreme Court ban transgender youth from sports nationwide in this case? ","content":"Yes. We expect the states and the federal government as amicus to argue, not only that the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX allow schools to exclude transgender girls and women categorically, but that the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX <i>require<\/i> all schools to do so. The Trump administration is currently using that argument to threaten to withhold funds from states and schools unless they agree to discriminate against transgender girls. If the Court agrees with that position it would result in a nationwide ban on including transgender women and girls in women\u2019s and girls scholastic sports.","image_video_field_group":{"image_video_options":"image","image_group":{"image":"","caption":"","credit":"","link-settings":"none","url":""},"video_group":{"video":null,"cover_image":null,"video_orientation":"standard"},"youtube_group":{"oembed-url":"","cover-image":null}}}]}}],"featured_cases_section":{"enable_featured_cases":false,"title":"Featured Cases","description":"","featured_cases":null},"enable_related_content":true,"related_content_campaigns":"","issues":[46567]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>American Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This year, SCOTUS will determine whether states can ban transgender students from youth sports \u2014 but the ACLU and women\u2019s sports stars are teaming up in support of trans youth, their families, and their right to be themselves.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More Than A Game | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This year, SCOTUS will determine whether states can ban transgender students from youth sports \u2014 but the ACLU and women\u2019s sports stars are teaming up in support of trans youth, their families, and their right to be themselves.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/campaigns-initiatives\/more-than-a-game\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2026\/01\/more-than-a-game-social.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2026\/01\/more-than-a-game-social.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/campaigns-initiatives\/more-than-a-game\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/campaigns-initiatives\/more-than-a-game\",\"name\":\"More Than A Game | American Civil Liberties Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-12T22:54:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"This year, SCOTUS will determine whether states can ban transgender students from youth sports \u2014 but the ACLU and women\u2019s sports stars are teaming up in support of trans youth, their families, and their right to be themselves.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/campaigns-initiatives\/more-than-a-game\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Civil Liberties Union\",\"description\":\"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. 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