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Fresh off a U.S. Supreme Court victory for states restricting transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., is calling on Congress to take the next step by making those protections the law nationwide.
Justice, who signed West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports Act” as governor, said the ruling vindicates the state’s approach after years of legal challenges and proves West Virginia “had it right all along.”
“To be perfectly honest, it makes me super proud of West Virginia,” Justice said in an interview Tuesday. “I’m prejudiced, you know, toward West Virginia, that’s for sure. But it makes me proud that the people of West Virginia had it right.”
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The Supreme Court’s twin rulings in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox uphold laws in West Virginia and Idaho restricting participation in girls’ and women’s sports based on biological sex, reinforcing similar laws already on the books in 27 other states.
West Virginia became one of the first states to enact legislation restricting transgender participation in girls’ and women’s athletics when Justice signed House Bill 3293 in April 2021.
The law requires athletic teams designated for females at public schools and colleges to be based on biological sex. The measure was immediately challenged in court, leading to years of litigation before reaching the Supreme Court.
Justice said he and his administration were willing to take political and legal risks to advance the legislation.
“I’m a coach and I’ve been a coach forever and I coach women and girls and have done that forever,” Justice said. “I see how hard they compete, how hard they try, how valuable Title IX is. I see their dreams being extinguished. And from my standpoint, from my heart, I’ve been all in from day one.”
Although the Supreme Court upheld the laws in West Virginia and Idaho, it did not create a nationwide standard, leaving states to determine their own policies and setting the stage for Justice’s push for federal legislation.
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“There’s still more that needs to come,” Justice told Fox News Digital. “This needs to be national.”
Justice’s call for a nationwide law comes as the Trump administration has battled Democratic-led states such as California and Maine over policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. President Donald Trump has clashed with Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills over the state’s transgender athlete policy and has sued California over similar rules, arguing both states are violating Title IX protections for women and girls.
While Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he does not believe it’s fair for transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, California Attorney General Rob Bonta is defending the state’s policy in court against the Trump administration’s lawsuit.
“The Supreme Court’s decision does not affect California’s laws. The state remains committed to ensuring every Californian, including the LGBTQ community, is met with dignity and respect,” a spokesperson for Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital.
The Trump administration’s lawsuits with both states are still ongoing.
Since taking office in January, Justice has pushed to make West Virginia’s policy the national standard by cosponsoring Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, or S.9. But the bill failed to advance in March 2025 after falling short of the 60 votes needed in the Senate.
Justice indicated Tuesday he will continue supporting legislation to protect women’s sports for all girls and women across the country.
“As soon as I was sworn in as Senator I got to work on protecting women’s sports,” Justice said in a statement. “Our girls deserve somebody willing to stand up and fight for them. That’s why I proudly cosponsored Senator Tuberville’s S.9 and pushed the NCAA for answers about protecting women’s locker rooms. At the end of the day, this isn’t complicated. It’s just common sense. Let’s protect our female athletes, keep women’s sports for women, and do what’s right.”
In the meantime, Justice extended the invitation for families to move to his state, where “commonsense” is practiced.
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“Come to West Virginia and Idaho,” Justice said. “For God’s sakes, what in the world do you want to be in California for? Because the reason is just right out the window in California, It makes no sense at all. Logic doesn’t matter. But in West Virginia, you’ll find a lot of good stuff.”
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Justice said the debate ultimately comes down to protecting opportunities for female athletes.
“For five years, we’ve been on this journey and there’s been a lot of beautiful, athletic girls and women that have been trying as hard as they can and people have, in many situations, turned their backs on them,” Justice told Fox News Digital. “We waited five years too long, and for those that fell through the cracks in those five years, we should all apologize, but we should celebrate today.”
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