An Idaho district court judge recently ruled that a man who sued to compete on women’s sports teams — but now wishes to drop the lawsuit before it heads to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) — must continue with the litigation to reach a resolution that would set a legal precedent.
According to the Idaho Capital Sun, Chief U.S. District Court Judge David Nye decided Oct. 14 that because Idaho for five years has been defending the lawsuit, which centers around a hot-button issue, “it would be fundamentally unfair to abandon the issue now on the eve of a final resolution.”
As CatholicVote previously reported, Lindsay Hecox, a male student at Boise State University, sued Idaho in 2020 over a state law that protects women’s sports from male participation. After the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2024 that Hecox could play on women’s sports teams while the case continued, Idaho appealed to SCOTUS. Hecox is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
However, Hecox filed a petition with SCOTUS Sept. 2 to dismiss the case before a decision is reached, saying that he has been dealing with “illness, the death of his father, and negative public scrutiny from certain quarters because of this litigation.” He says he no longer wants to pursue litigation, will not file the claims again, and does not want to play on women’s teams.
Idaho Solicitor General Alan Hurst had told SCOTUS in a letter that the state intended to oppose Hecox’s request. In a statement following Nye’s Oct. 14 ruling, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador celebrated the district court’s decision to reach a final resolution to the issue.
“From day one in office, defending this law has been a top priority because Idaho’s daughters deserve fair competition based on biological reality,” he stated, according to legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). ADF is representing Madison Kenyon and Mary Marshall, two former Boise State athletes, who are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Labrador later added, “This decision keeps our lawsuit alive, and I won’t stop until women and girls are safe to compete, participate, and excel in competitive sports.”
In a post on X last month, ADF President, CEO, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner called the request to dismiss a “desperate, bad-faith move” on the ACLU’s part to avoid judgment from SCOTUS.
“Almost every week, we hear a new report about a male taking a girl’s rightful spot or medal in women’s sports. Too many women and girls are losing their chance to be champions to kick this can down the road,” she later said. “The issue of men in women’s sports is an ongoing, nationwide controversy. It deserves its day at America’s highest court.”
According to the Idaho Capital Sun, Idaho’s law protecting women’s sports is the first of its kind in the country. Thanks to last year’s ruling from the 9th Circuit, the law is currently frozen.
However, other states, including Arizona, California, and West Virginia, have seen lawsuits filed over male participation in women’s sports, CatholicVote previously reported.
The Idaho Capital Sun reported that Labrador’s office said oral arguments before SCOTUS would likely be in January.