(LifeSiteNews) — Last week, a gender-confused power lifter won a discrimination lawsuit against a national powerlifting organization, forcing the group to allow men and women to compete.
A biological man who refers to himself as “JayCee” Cooper and is a self-described “transgender woman” sued USA Powerlifting (USAPL) in 2021 for discrimination after the organization denied gender-confused men from competing against women, citing biological differences and fairness. On February 27, a Minnesota district judge signed a judgment summary that announced that “USAPL’s policy constitutes both public accommodation discrimination and discrimination in trade or business” as well as “sexual orientation discrimination.”
Cooper sued based on alleged violations of the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), claiming that the national organization was guilty of “sex and sexual discrimination in public accommodations, sex and sexual orientation discrimination in business,” and that “the Minnesota chapter of USAPL intentionally aided and abetted violations of the MHRA.” The defendants were found guilty of all charges except allegations that their so-called discrimination was conducted with malicious intent.
“By denying Cooper the right to participate in the female category, the category consistent with her [sic] self-identification, USAPL denied her [sic] the full and equal enjoyment of the services, support, and facilities USAPL offered its members,” the judgment summary states. “It separated Cooper and segregated her [sic] and, in doing so, failed to fully perform the contractual obligations it agreed to when it accepted Cooper’s money and issued Cooper a membership card.”
The summary also states that “the harm [of segregation] is in making a person pretend to be something different, the implicit message being that who they are is less than. That is the very essence of separation and segregation and it is what the MHRA prohibits.”
Ultimately, the judge ruled that “the undisputed facts” proved USAPL “discriminated against Cooper in public accommodation ‘because of’ her [sic] sex and sexual orientation” and that the gender-confused power lifter was discriminated against “in the basic terms, conditions, or performance of the contract between USAPL and Cooper ‘because of’ Cooper’s sex and sexual orientation.”
The judge issued a cease-and-desist order banning the organization from preventing biological men from competing against biological women, citing “unfair discriminatory practices.” USAPL is required to “submit a revised policy that will comply” with the ruling within two weeks of the judgment and “must comply with the revised policy thereafter.”
Another trial on damages is scheduled for May 1.
USAPL president Larry Maile said in a statement that “our position has been aimed at balancing the needs of cis- and transgender [sic] women, whose capacities differ significantly in purely strength sports.”
“We have received a summary judgment decision from the Court finding us liable for discrimination. We respectfully disagree with the Court’s conclusions. We are considering all of our options, including appeal.”
The controversy surrounding the lawsuit began four years ago, when USAPL issued guidelines restricting “transgender” athletes from competing against members of the opposite sex. In February 2019, LifeSiteNews reported that the organization prohibited the use of androgens by any athlete, male and female, attempting to “transition” to the opposite sex. The “Transgender Participation Policy” is based on biological realities and commitment to fair competition.
“USA Powerlifting has not banned transgender athletes,” the policy states. “There are rules surrounding requirements for membership as with any organization. Policy is set for the most fundamental of all of the rules, drug testing secondly fairness in competition.”
In response to the question, “Why do you not allow transgender women?” the organization states that “men naturally have a larger bone structure, higher bone density, stronger connective tissue and higher muscle density than women. These traits, even with reduced levels of testosterone, do not go away. While MTF [male to female] may be weaker and less muscle than they once were, the biological benefits given them at birth still remain over than a female.”
After the release of the guidelines, Democrat U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota called for investigations into the powerlifting organization, citing discrimination. In May 2019, the USAPL national board of governors held a vote on whether to maintain the policy. As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, 46 members voted against removing the ban on gender-confused men competing against women with only four voting in favor of doing so.
RELATED:
Court places injunction on West Virginia law banning gender-confused males from women’s sports
Christian surfer Bethany Hamilton slams decision to let gender-confused men compete against women
World Boxing Council bans gender-confused men from competing against women