Supreme Court upholds bans on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. In the latest of a string of losses for LGBTQ rights, the high court allowed states to bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. Supreme Court upholds state bans on transgender athletes in girls' sports. WASHINGTON — Delivering another major blow to LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws that ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports. It is the latest in a string of defeats for transgender people at the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority. The administration opposes state policies that allow transgender athletes to fully participate in girls’ and women’s sports, filing a lawsuit against California on the issue. The Idaho law, passed a year earlier, similarly says that sports “designated for females, women, or girls should not be open to students of the male sex.”.