Media Contact:
Suzanne Morse
Ph: 617-948-4650
Email: pr@uua.org

Boston, Mass. (June 30, 2026) – The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is decrying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in two cases related to transgender athletes. The two cases were Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. The Court held that the states of “West Virginia and Idaho did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment” or Title IX by restricting trans and intersex athletes’ participation, according to the decision (PDF 77 pages). These decisions upheld the right of states to pass similar laws, but importantly do not require discrimination against trans students. The Court stopped short of overturning other protections for trans people under the law.

“Unitarian Universalists have made it clear time and time again that as a matter of faith, we believe that being transgender, or identifying with any gender other than the one assigned at birth, is a beautiful and divine manifestation of humanity,” said Carey McDonald, the UUA’s Executive Vice President.

“These cases were never about sports; they are about the struggle for people across the gender spectrum to be recognized and affirmed as full members of the human family. And while today’s decision is a loss, our faith is clear that no court can strip or erase the inherent worthiness of trans, nonbinary, and intersex people. We will continue the work to ensure that trans people like me are welcome in every space in this country, including trans athletes’ place on the playing field,” said McDonald.

Both Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. were argued in front of the Supreme Court on the same day. In the cases, female transgender student athletes challenged laws in Idaho and West Virginia that banned trans girls or women from playing on sports teams that match their gender identities.

Unitarian Universalists and the UUA have been strong supporters of rights for trans, nonbinary, and intersex people. In November 2025, Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt joined eleven other diverse religious traditions in issuing a landmark statement proclaiming that transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people are worthy of love, support, and protection. She was also the lead author of the statement, which was developed with significant input and contributions from trans and nonbinary Unitarian Universalists.

“When people of faith and conscience stay silent in the face of oppression, we are all made less whole. When people of faith and conscience speak out against that which violates the sacred in its own name, we have the power to stay the hand of sin. Transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people are vulnerable today. Our faiths, our theologies, and our practices of prophetic witness call on us to say with one voice to transgender people among us: ‘You are holy. You are sacred. We love you. We support you, and we will protect you,’” the statement says.

In 2024, the UUA’s General Assembly passed a resolution - the official mechanism for UUs to interpret our shared religious values – in which UUs proclaimed that embracing transgender, nonbinary, intersex and gender diverse people is a fundamental expression of UU religious values. UUs believe that the ability to live ever-more authentically as one’s true self is central to a lifelong journey towards spiritual fulfillment and that our covenant as a faith inescapably binds us to affirm and protect our transgender and intersex members and kindred, in faith and in practice.

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About the UUA:

The UUA is the central organization for the Unitarian Universalist (UU) religious movement in the United States. Our faith is diverse and inclusive and the UUA’s 1000+ member congregations are committed to shared values and principles that hold closely the worthiness and dignity of each person as sacred, the need for justice and compassion, the right of conscience, and respect for the interdependent nature of all existence.