Supreme Court upholds ban on males who identify as girls from competing in girls' sports

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws banning males who identify as girls from competing in girls' sports. 

The court's majority ruled that state bans in Idaho and West Virginia don't violate the Constitution or federal Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, the Associated Press reported. 

The ruling applied to two separate cases. Lindsay Hecox, who was born male but identifies as a girl, filed a lawsuit against Idaho's first-in-the nation ban for the opportunity to try out for women's track and cross-country teams at Boise State University. Hecox didn't make either squad. 

In the other case, Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 16-year-old high school sophomore, in Bridgeport, West Virginia, was born male but identifies as a girl, and was issued a state birth certificate recognizing Pepper-Jackson's sex as female. The athlete takes puberty-blocking medication and sought to compete in girls' sports.