A transgender powerlifter has taken a yearslong case of discrimination to the Minnesota Supreme Court, with opening arguments beginning on Tuesday.
A yearslong case surrounding a transgender female powerlifter reached the Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday where opening arguments were heard. JayCee Cooper, sued USA Powerlifting in 2021 after being rejected from the women's team three years earlier.
The federation appealed the decision; Cooper then cross-appealed, and on Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals decided the athletic league did not discriminate against the individual. On Tuesday, the court asked Ansis Viksnins, USA Powerlifting's attorney, why banning Cooper from women's competition was not 'discriminatory.' Viksnins responded it was not 'based on gender identity.
The motive here was to separate biological males into a category where they are competing against other people who were born biologically male, that if I could point out my client separate competitors three ways by age, weight and sex. They do not care about gender identity. They don't care about sexual orientation.' The federation opened an 'open' category in 2021 'to serve all gender identities,' according to FOX 9 in Minnesota.
Cooper twice competed against a lone competitor — Rebecca Richnofsky — in the women's raw 198+ open category in 2019, winning both times. In the 2019 USPA National Championships, Cooper finished in fourth out of four competitors in that category. Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report. Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
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