ST PAUL, Minn — (Editor's note: The above video originally aired on February 28, 2023.)
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has found that discrimination against athletes based on gender identity violates the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
In a ruling released Monday, the court announced it is sending the case of a transgender woman who was denied entry into USA Powerlifting (USAPL) competitions back to a district court to determine whether she was rejected because she is transgender. However, the Appeals Court justices ruled the lower court erred when granting judgement in favor of JayCee Cooper, a powerlifter who was banned from competing in women's competitions.
A bit of history: In 2019 Cooper, through Gender Justice, filed a discrimination claim with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights against USA Powerlifting for banning her and all other trans women athletes from competing in women's competitions.
Then in 2021, Cooper's legal team filed a lawsuit against the organization in Ramsey County, seeking protection from discrimination and allowing all transgender athletes to compete in the category of their gender identity.
In their ruling, the Appeals Court ruled that USAPL indeed violated Minnesota's Human Rights Act in not allowing Cooper to compete but sent the matter back to the district court, saying "there are genuine issues of material fact as to whether defendant excluded plaintiff from the women’s division of its weightlifting competitions because of her transgender status."
Gender Justice is touting Monday's ruling as a second chance for the lower court to get it right.
"The Court of Appeals affirmed that it is illegal to discriminate against transgender people in sports, but sent the case back down for trial to determine whether that is what happened here," said Jess Braverman, legal director for Gender Justice, in a news release. "We believe that it is crystal clear that JayCee Cooper experienced exactly this kind of discrimination, and we are confident that the courts will ultimately agree."
KARE 11 has reached out to USA Powerlifting for a response to the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmation.
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