Georgetown University students joined protesters outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 to support the rights of transgender student athletes.
The protest came as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the rights of transgender girls and women to participate on school athletic teams that align with their gender identity. The court considered two lower court decisions in Idaho and West Virginia, where justices ruled that bans on transgender athletes playing on the team aligning with their gender identity violated the 14th Amendment and Title IX.
Organized by various branches of the legal nonprofit American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the protest featured speakers including Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).
Sara Holler (CAS ’28), a student who attended the protest, said the event centered on messages of inclusion, representation and the importance of sports in social and emotional development.
“I attended because I have seen firsthand the effects of trans people being excluded from workplaces and schools,” Holler told The Hoya. “My cousin is trans, and she has faced discrimination from schools and workplaces, and she is just trying to live a normal life and to have friends and be in society.”
“Sports and education and just showing up in the classroom every day and showing up on the field shouldn’t be this major political issue,” Holler added.
During the case’s oral arguments, a majority of justices indicated they would likely support the original state laws that barred transgender students’ participation. These laws, closely mirroring each other, prohibited transgender women from participating on women’s K-12 and collegiate athletic teams and were blocked by circuit and appeals courts in Idaho and West Virginia in 2020 and 2024, respectively.
Rémi Jacques (CAS ’28), who also attended the protest, said personal ties to those implicated by transgender legislation drove him to participate in the protest.
“I’ve grown up my entire life with very close friends and family who are transgender,” Jacques told The Hoya. “You need that community of solidarity to exist, to support each other, and maybe, if the political winds change soon, you have energy to try and roll back all of the restrictive laws which have been put in place recently.”
A counterprotest took place concurrently outside of the Supreme Court building in support of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, featuring speeches from U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), both prominent opponents of transgender rights.
Jacques said the counterprotesters used loudspeakers in an attempt to interrupt the ACLU-led demonstrators’ speakers and music.
“That was a really hard part of the protest, that there was such a loud and not even a respectful political discourse, very much a direct attack on people’s humanity, very close by,” Jacques said.
Holler said the counterprotesters did not detract from the reassuring environment of the ACLU-led event.
“The environment was hopeful, and it was energetic, and people were excited to be there and excited to talk with one another and build community and just build reassurance that this community will always exist, no matter what the outcome of the cases are,” Holler said.
Scout Cardillo (CAS, McCourt ’27) — the executive director of Bulletproof Pride, an advocacy organization that addresses gun violence and intersectional issues facing the LGBTQ+ community — said they worked in tandem with the protest organizers to support the attendees.
“With the increased threats to trans political organizers, we wanted to make sure that the trans youth who were attending the rally also had a healthy escape from the overwhelming sense of fear the community is facing right now,” Cardillo wrote to The Hoya. “The night before the rally, we had a small game night to help people stay off social media and reground ourselves ahead of the rally yesterday.”
Holler said the role of students in acts of civic engagement is to build a foundation for future leadership.
“It’s like a form of studying,” Holler said. “It teaches you about how to form relationships and build community, and what it is to have passion for something and to care for something and fight for something. I think that those are all extremely important skills for life and for the future of our political and social community.”
Holler said despite the counterprotesting and the risk of the Supreme Court overturning the two lower court decisions, she was heartened by the protest’s unifying nature.
“If we all stand together, it creates a powerful message that this type of exclusion won’t be tolerated in our society — no matter what higher-up government officials think, that they can’t pressure people into believing,” Holler said.
