#jaycee cooper

Samantha Riedel at Them (10.23.2025):

The Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously ruled this week that a USA Powerlifting (USAPL) policy banning transgender women from women’s competitions is “facially discriminatory,” but returned the case to a lower court to determine whether such athletic discrimination could constitute a “legitimate business purpose.” In the 35-page ruling, filed Wednesday, the Court sided with plaintiff JayCee Cooper in determining that USAPL — the governing body for competitive powerlifting in the U.S. — violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) by barring Cooper and all trans women from women’s competitions. Cooper originally filed suit in 2021, alleging that USAPL engaged in sexual orientation discrimination under the MHRA and unlawfully barred her from a public accommodation because she is trans. (The suit centered on the version of the MHRA that was active in 2018, when Cooper applied to compete, per court documents; that version associated trans identity with sexual orientation, but Rep. Leigh Finke, the state’s first out trans legislator, later authored an amendment codifying a separate definition of “gender identity,” which the state adopted in 2023.)

[...] The Court also did not agree that USAPL had committed discrimination in business, as Cooper argued. “[W]e conclude that there is a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether USA Powerlifting’s blanket policy has a legitimate business purpose,” the Court ruled, returning the case to the original district court to determine whether USAPL’s “interpretation of fair play” within powerlifting — that trans women must be excluded to ensure an equal playing field — could allow the organization to maintain its policy. Other athletic organizations, such as World Athletics, have introduced their own policies restricting trans women’s eligibility over the past several years, often citing similar concerns that trans women enjoy athletic advantages over cis women like muscle density and distribution. But research on the matter has indicated the reality might be far more complex. One study published last year found that trans women on hormone therapy may also face significant disadvantages on some athletic metrics, like lower body strength and oxygen consumption.

Glad to see the Minnesota Supreme Court rightly rule in favor of trans female powerlifter JayCee Cooper.

See Also:

USA PowerLifting Summarily Bans All Transgender Athletes

JayCee Cooper

Last month USA PowerLifting’ banned JayCee Cooper, a transgender woman from competing in at a Minnesota event. Cooper’s application was denied in December by USAPL Therapeutic Use Exemptions Committee Chair Kristopher Hunt in an email to Cooper.

“Male-to-female transgenders are not allowed to compete as females in our static strength sports as it is a direct competitive advantage.”