Jim Justice defends his transgender sports activities ban as Supreme Court docket listening to looms

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HEDGESVILLE, W.V. – EXCLUSIVE : As governor of West Virginia , Jim Justice in 2021 signed the Save Ladies’s Sports activities Act – prohibiting transgender women from competing in girls’s sports activities. Now that he represents the state within the U.S. Senate, his regulation faces Supreme Court scrutiny subsequent week with nationwide implications.

Justice spoke Saturday to Fox Information Digital – after he coached the Greenbrier East Excessive Faculty women’ basketball staff to a win over Hedgesville – in regards to the excessive stakes of the case, and why banning states from holding organic males out of feminine scholastic sports activities would unfairly drawback younger girls.

A transgender lady from the Bridgeport space named in court docket paperwork as "B. P. J." sued to overturn it and be capable of play on women’ sports activities groups, and the case has made its approach up the chain to the nation's highest court docket.

A trial court docket upheld the regulation in 2023, but it surely was overturned on attraction in April 2024 and the Supreme Court docket agreed in July to listen to the case, scheduling arguments for Tuesday.

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Sen. Jim Justice, left, and Babydog, proper, coach a Lewisburg, W.V. girls's basketball staff in Berkeley County, W.V. on January 10, 2026. (Charlie Creitz/Fox Information Digital)

"Why on the planet do not we step up and stand behind all of the younger women and all the ladies who're attempting to take part in athletics?" Justice informed Fox Information Digital courtside on the Spartans’ match close to Berkeley Springs.

"It's unbelievable what they've carried out, and I'm so happy with them -- And to completely simply stroll away, flip our again and say, ‘Oh, nicely, it is OK for us to [let] boys take part in opposition to their women" -- I'm off-the-chart completely standing with our girls."

Citing his personal expertise teaching women from Greenbrier East in Lewisburg, Justice mentioned he sees on daily basis how exhausting they work and maintained "they completely don’t should be deprived."

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"This court docket case is vastly essential," he mentioned, accompanied by his celeb canine companion Babydog. "On the finish of the day, if we won't rise up for our women; rise up for our girls; I do not know what on the planet is mistaken with us."

Justice was one among a number of lawmakers who filed an amicus brief in help of West Virginia and Lawyer Common JB McCuskey as he and Justice’s successor, Gov. Patrick Morrisey, deliver the case earlier than the bench.

The transient signaled Justice’s assertion that Congress should be the one to supply any growth of Title IX – the 1972 civil rights regulation prohibiting sex-based discrimination – past organic intercourse to incorporate gender identification.

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"I feel completely that Congress needs to be the one to increase it, however past that, I do not know why we’d even take into account it," Justice mentioned.

"It is best to see how exhausting our women work on a regular basis to excellent what they're doing, to completely have a dream of going to varsity and taking part in ball. My daughter performed school basketball. I have been there," Justice mentioned.

"We have seen a scenario the place a person principally is competing in opposition to our women or our girls and completely prevails. After which we see the tragedy of how… powerful that's on our women and girls," he mentioned.

At all times fast to tout the virtues of his dwelling state, Justice additionally spoke about how essential it's to see Mountaineers leading the charge on the transgender sports activities problem.

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"West Virginia is so good in so some ways," the famed Greenbrier proprietor mentioned, including that the arguments McCuskey’s staff is making ready to make on Tuesday match proper into the state’s modus operandi:

"I've mentioned it time and again, we're sure with logic, frequent sense, goodness, good neighbors, folks which are appreciative and loving -- It's completely unbelievable how we stepped up throughout COVID, all of the various things we did, we led the nation time and again."

"Now the nation is awakening, the world is awakening simply how nice West Virginia really is. However our persons are the actual deal. That is all there's to it," he mentioned.

130 DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES URGE SCOTUS TO SIDE WITH TRANS ATHLETE IN TITLE IX LEGAL BATTLE

On the opposite facet of the case, B.P.J. is looking for to play on her high school sports teams with women.

This previous 12 months, B.P.J. certified for the West Virginia women highschool state observe meet, ending third within the discus-throw and eighth within the shot-put within the Class AAA division.

She has recognized as feminine since third grade and has been taking puberty-blocking medicine. The plaintiffs have complained of harassment and intimidation over their lawsuit.

The Supreme Court docket will formally resolve on each West Virginia's law and an Idaho coverage. The Justice Division helps the legal guidelines and shall be allotted time throughout oral arguments.

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Donald Trump, left; Jim Justice, proper (Saul Loeb/Getty)

The Save Ladies’s Sports activities Act was spearheaded within the West Virginia legislature by GOP Dels. Evan Worrell of Barboursville, Wayne Clark of Charles City and Jonathan Pinson of Ravenswood.

Fox Information Digital’s Olivia Palombo and Fox Information’ Shannon Bream and Invoice Mears contributed to this report .

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox Information Digital.

He joined Fox Information in 2013 as a author and manufacturing assistant.

Charles covers media , politics and tradition for Fox Information Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple College with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story suggestions may be despatched to charles.creitz@fox.com.