The Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) took a victory lap on Tuesday after the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) affirmed the right of states to protect women from competing against biological males in sports.
Alabama took extensive action in 2023, expanding the 2021 K-12 restrictions on males participating in exclusively female sports divisions and mandating that male athletic teams be restricted to biological males and female athletic teams to biological females.
The 2021 measure, which applied to K-12 schools, was sponsored in the House by State Rep. Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle), who now sits as the ALGOP chairman. A 2023 bill sponsored by State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover) in the House and State Sen. April Weaver (R-Brierfield) in the Senate expanded the restrictions on collegiate sports.
"This is a victory for common sense, fairness, and the integrity of women's sports," Stadthagen said. "Alabama has been leading on these issues for years, and today's decision confirms that states have the authority to protect opportunities for women and girls."
SCOTUS ruled 6-3 on Tuesday in the cases of Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. BPJ that the states' laws restricting so-called transgender women and girls from competing on female school sports teams do not violate the U.S. Constitution or the provisions in Title IX.
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