Pro Tem Paxton Applauds U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Men in Women’s Sports

OKLAHOMA CITY - Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that states can legally ban transgender women and girls from competing in female school sports.

In 2022, the Oklahoma Legislature passed Senate Bill 2, the Save Women’s Sports Act, which was signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt. The law protects female athletes from competing against males who identify as females in school-sponsored athletic events.

“The U.S. Supreme Court got it right,” Pro Tem Paxton said. “Oklahoma already had measures in place to safeguard our female athletes, and the Court's ruling validates our efforts. Teams designated for female sports should never be open to biological males. Doing so creates an unfair advantage, which we have seen play out in other states across the country. The lack of passing commonsense measures in other states to protect our youth has led to people leaving those places to come to states like Oklahoma. Female athletes train just as hard and are just as committed, but male athletes possess inherent physical advantages in muscle mass and body structure. The Court should be applauded for protecting fairness in sports.”

The Save Women’s Sports Act expressly designates that athletic teams sponsored by a public or private school must be based on biological sex and divided into three categories: males, females, or co-ed.

The law also states that any student deprived of an athletic opportunity or who suffers direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation of these categories has a cause of action for injunctive relief and damages against the school.

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