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The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that USA Powerlifting’s (USAPL) decision to bar a biologically male trans athlete from competing in the women’s category was “discrimination.”
USA Powerlifting has now reacted and criticized the court’s decision.
“Our goal since legal proceedings began against USA Powerlifting in 2021 was to present all the facts and evidence of our actions to a jury,” the organization said in a statement to OutKick. “We are pleased that both Minnesota Courts of Appeals have agreed that we have standing to present a business discrimination claim to a jury and look forward to offering our evidence to that end.”
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The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in a powerlifting case. (Pakinomist Digital)
The USAPL also praised the decision to allow one of its claims to proceed. The ruling sent part of the case back to a lower court to determine whether USA Powerlifting has a “legitimate business purpose” in excluding the trans athlete.
“Our goal since litigation began against USA Powerlifting (USAPL) in 2021 was to present all facts and evidence of our actions to a jury,” the organization said. “We are pleased that both Minnesota Courts of Appeals have agreed that we have standing to present a business discrimination claim to a jury and look forward to offering our evidence to that end.”
Trans athlete JayCee Cooper sued USA Powerlifting in 2021 alleging the organization engaged in discriminatory practices after denying the athlete’s application to compete in the women’s division in 2018, claiming it violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
After a lower court initially sided with Cooper in 2023, the Minnesota Court of Appeals sent the case back to the trial court, saying there were “genuine questions of fact” about whether USA Powerlifting excluded Cooper because of the athlete’s transgender identity and whether the organization had a “legitimate business reason” to do so.
The state Supreme Court then decided to take up the case in July 2024.
The court’s decision Wednesday said “USA Powerlifting’s policy at the time of the decision was to categorically exclude transgender women from competing in the women’s division.”
“Because USA Powerlifting’s facially discriminatory policy provides direct evidence of a discriminatory motive, there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Cooper’s transgender status actually motivated USA Powerlifting’s decision to prohibit Cooper from competing. We therefore reverse that portion of the appellate court’s decision on this issue,” Chief Judge Natalie Hudson wrote in Wednesday’s opinion.
“We agree with Cooper that USA Powerlifting’s policy is discriminatory on its face; therefore, there is no genuine dispute that USA Powerlifting discriminated against Cooper because of her transgender status.”
USAPL claims it acted for “legitimate reasons.
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The USAPL was acting for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons to promote fairness in the sport when it decided that Ms. Cooper should not compete in the women’s division due to her male physiology,” the USAPL statement continued.
“Ms. Cooper was born biologically male and went through puberty as a male. According to unverified scientific research, males have up to a 64% strength advantage in powerlifting and suppression of testosterone only reduces the advantage by about 10%. This difference in results makes it fundamentally unfair for a male-to-female to compete across women’s power.”
The USAPL also pointed to data indicating that most Americans support protecting women’s sports from trans athletes, and the fact that the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has updated its athlete safety policy to only allow women in women’s sports.
“A 2025 New York Times/Ipsos poll found that 79% of Americans oppose allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports,” the organization noted. “Since the Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments in our case, the US Olympic Committee has barred transgender female athletes from competing in women’s events, and the British Supreme Court ruled that the term ‘woman’ applied to biological women.”
The court’s decision was unanimous. Five of the seven Minnesota Supreme Court justices were appointed by the Democratic administration. Tim Waltzand the other two were appointed by former Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton.
Republicans in Minnesota have condemned the court’s decision.
Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz speaks at a get-out-the-vote rally on October 22, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Minnesota Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth issued a statement rejecting the ruling.
“For decades, women and girls fought tirelessly for the rights guaranteed under Title IX. Unfortunately, these hard-fought protections have come under increasing attack, and today’s decision marks another setback in the fight to protect girls’ sports,” Demuth said.
“This issue is ultimately about safety and fairness, and Minnesotans overwhelmingly agree that their daughters and granddaughters should not be forced to compete against boys. House Republicans are poised to act in the first weeks of next year’s legislative session to make clear that girls’ sports are for girls.”
