Female athlete reacts after judge sends trans sports case back to SCOTUS

EXCLUSIVE: Mary Kate Marshall, a former Idaho State University women’s cross country runner, will continue her role in a potential landmark legal battle over women’s sports that is expected to reach the Supreme Court after a federal judge’s ruling this week.

U.S. District Judge David Nye denied a transgender athlete’s request to dismiss the Hecox v. Little lawsuit, in which Marshall has been a defendant since 2020 after having to compete against a biological male, keeping the case on track to be heard by Supreme Court justices early next year.

Marshall spoke to Fox News Digital about what Nye’s decision meant to her.

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“This case gives the Supreme Court the opportunity to affirm that women and girls have the right to compete fairly. Sports have shaped the skills I use every day, skills I would not have developed without the opportunity for safe and fair competition. Women’s voices deserve to be heard loud and clear at SCOTUS with a clear message: biological males have no place in women’s sports,” Marshall said.

Marshall, alongside former ISU teammate Madison Kenyon, joined the list of defendants in Hecox v. Little after having to face trans athlete June Eastwood from the University of Montana in 2020.

Mary Kate Marshall and Madison Kenyon, former Idaho State University women’s athletes (Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom)

They originally attempted to have the case dismissed after another transgender athlete, Lindsay Hecox, filed a lawsuit to block Idaho’s law banning trans athletes from competing in women’s sports in order to join the Boise State women’s cross country team.

“(Kenyon and Marshall) were incredulous and dismayed to discover last year that…Eastwood was allowed to compete in women’s cross country and track and field events,” Marshall and Kenyon’s original 2020 motion stated.

“(Kenyon) and (Marshall’) both had the deflating experience of racing and losing to Eastwood and being knocked down a placement level due to his participation. They found the experience of losing to a male runner categorically different from that of losing to a female.”

Kenyon previously told Fox News Digital about his experience dealing with a biological man.

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“My coach sat us down in the room and told us that we would be competing against a male athlete in a specific competition and let us know that. And I remember sitting there and looking around the room going, ‘Well, what do my teammates think about that?’ What do we do?’” Kenyon said.

“So for us, it wasn’t a question of whether I was going to compete or not. I’m going to show everything I have and see what happens. And sure enough, this male athlete beat me, beat all my teammates and it kept happening throughout the season. So, that’s when I said, ‘This isn’t fair.’

Hecox’s challenge was successful, as a federal judge blocked the Idaho state law. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction blocking the state law in 2023.

But last July, after years of fighting, Marshall, Kenyon, their lawyers and Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador succeeded in getting their case heard by the Supreme Court. Hecox then tried to have the case dismissed, before Nye’s ruling this week.

Marshall and Kenyon’s attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) also spoke out.

“Women and girls deserve to compete on equal terms. But activists continue their quest to erase the differences between men and women by forcing schools to allow men to compete in women’s sports. This contradicts biological reality and common sense. That’s why we are pleased that the district court rejected the attempt to end this case before it is argued before the US Supreme Court. United States,” John Bursch, ADF senior attorney and vice president of appellate defense, said on Fox News Digital.

“The Constitution and Title IX authorize states to protect women and girls by restricting women’s sports to women. We look forward to soon standing with the State of Idaho to argue this case before the high court and urging it to listen to the countless girls across the country speaking out on this issue and restore fairness and safety to female athletes.”

Hecox’s attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Cooley, LLP and Legal Voice, provided a statement to Fox News Digital after U.S. District Judge David Nye on Tuesday denied the trans athlete’s motion to dismiss the case.

“Lindsay terminated her participation in all women’s athletic programs covered by HB 500 to prioritize completing her degree at Boise State and her personal safety and well-being. Lindsay withdrew her challenge to Idaho’s HB 500 and that remains unchanged,” the statement said.

“We will continue to defend the rights of all women and girls, including transgender women and girls.”

Hecox’s efforts to have the case dismissed are not completely over, as SCOTUS still has to decide whether the case is moot. But Labrador, who is leading the defense against Hecox, believes Nye’s decision is a “good sign” for his efforts to take the case to the nation’s highest court and obtain a historic ruling.

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Labrador previously said he hoped the Supreme Court would issue a ruling with a broader impact than just letting a state enforce its own specific law on the issue. He wants a new national precedent.

“I believe that’s what they’re going to do,” Labrador told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “I think they’re going to have an important decision on whether men can compete in women’s sports and, more importantly, how to determine whether transgender people are protected by the federal constitution and state and federal laws.”

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