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The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that USA Powerlifting’s (USAPL) decision to reject a biological trans male athlete from competition in the women’s category was “discrimination.”
USA Powerlifting has now responded, criticizing the court’s decision.
“Our goal since litigation against USA Powerlifting began in 2021 was to present all of the facts and evidence of our actions before a jury,” the organization said in a statement to OutKick. “We are pleased that Minnesota’s two state appeals courts agree that we have the right to bring a business discrimination claim to a jury and we look forward to offering our evidence to that end.”
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The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in a weightlifting case. (Pak Gazette Digital)
USAPL also praised the decision to allow one of its claims to proceed. The ruling sent part of the case back to a lower court to determine whether USA Powerlifting has a “legitimate business purpose” for excluding the trans athlete.
“Our goal since litigation against USA Powerlifting (USAPL) began in 2021 was to present all of the facts and evidence of our actions before a jury,” the organization said. “We are pleased that Minnesota’s two state appeals courts agree that we have the right to bring a business discrimination claim to a jury and we look forward to offering our evidence to that end.”
Trans athlete JayCee Cooper sued USA Powerlifting in 2021, alleging the organization engaged in discriminatory practices after denying the athlete’s application to compete in the women’s division in 2018, arguing it violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
After a lower court initially sided with Cooper in 2023, the Minnesota Court of Appeals returned the case to the lower court, saying there were “genuine factual issues” about whether USA Powerlifting excluded Cooper because of the athlete’s transgender identity and whether the organization had a “legitimate business reason” for doing so.
The state Supreme Court then decided to take up the case in July 2024.
Wednesday’s court ruling said that “USA Powerlifting’s policy at the time of the decision was to categorically exclude transgender women from competing in the women’s division.”
“Because USA Powerlifting’s apparently discriminatory policy provides direct evidence of a discriminatory motive, there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Cooper’s transgender status actually motivated USA Powerlifting’s decision to bar Cooper from competing. We therefore reverse that portion of the appeals court’s decision on this issue,” the chief justice wrote. Natalie Hudson, in Wednesday’s opinion.
“We agree with Cooper that USA Powerlifting’s policy is prima facie discriminatory; therefore, there is no genuine question that USA Powerlifting discriminated against Cooper because of his transgender status.”
The USAPL claims it acted for “legitimate reasons.”
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“The USAPL acted for legitimate and non-discriminatory reasons to promote fairness in sport by determining that Ms. Cooper should not compete in the women’s division due to her male physiology,” the USAPL statement continued.
“Ms. Cooper was born biologically male and went through puberty as a man. According to undisputed scientific research, men have a strength advantage of up to 64% in weightlifting and suppression of testosterone only reduces the advantage by approximately 10%. This difference in results makes it fundamentally unfair for a male-to-female transgender weightlifter to compete in the women’s division.”
USAPL also pointed to data suggesting that a majority of Americans support women’s sports protecting trans athletes and the fact that the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has updated its athlete safety policy to allow only women in women’s sports.
“A 2025 New York Times/Ipsos poll found that 79% of Americans oppose allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports,” the organization noted. “Since the Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments in our case, the United States Olympic Committee has banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s events, and the United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled that the term ‘woman’ applies to biological women.”
The court’s decision was unanimous. Five of the seven Minnesota Supreme Court justices were appointed by the Democratic governor. Tim Walzand the other two were appointed by former Democratic Governor Mark Dayton.
Minnesota Republicans condemned the court’s decision.

Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz speaks at a get out the vote rally on October 22, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Republican Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth issued a statement condemning the ruling.
“For decades, women and girls fought tirelessly for the rights guaranteed by Title IX. Unfortunately, those hard-won protections have come under increasing attack, and today’s decision marks another setback in the fight to protect women’s sports,” Demuth said.
“Ultimately, this issue is about safety and fairness, and Minnesotans overwhelmingly agree that their daughters and granddaughters should not be forced to compete against boys. House Republicans are ready to act in the first weeks of next year’s legislative session to make clear that women’s sports are for girls.”