The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC), in collaboration with Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), has filed an amicus curiae brief to the Minnesota Supreme Court in support of USA Powerlifting’s common-sense decision not to allow men to compete in women’s powerlifting, in a case with major implications for the future of women’s sports.
IWF and McNabb joined forces with UMLC to argue that allowing male athletes to compete in women’s sports would undermine the achievements of female athletes and endanger their safety. IWF, through its extensive research in the Competition Report, has highlighted the significant physical differences between men and women that make fair competition impossible if men are allowed to participate in female sports categories. Payton McNabb’s experience exemplifies these risks. During a high school volleyball game in 2022, McNabb, a three-sport athlete, suffered life-changing injuries when a male athlete spiked the ball into her head, causing a concussion, brain bleed, and lasting neurological damage. That was McNabb’s last game and the end to her athletic career.
“I was partially paralyzed when a male, who identified as a female, spiked the ball at my head. Women simply cannot prepare for that type of playing environment. It cannot be the case that the law requires that we accept that as the price of playing women’s sports,” said Payton McNabb, Independent Women’s Forum ambassador and former high school athlete.
The amicus brief asserts that USA Powerlifting’s policy of maintaining sex-specific leagues is consistent with the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) and is critical to preserving competitive fairness and safety in women’s sports. IWF and McNabb argue that without these protections, women will lose playing time, scholarships, trophies, and, in some cases, their physical well-being to male competitors.
“I can’t believe we have to say this, but women’s sports are legal. USA Powerlifting’s decision to preserve the female category was reasonable and has nothing to do with gender identity, and everything to do with sex equality. The fact that women now have to defend against a male’s lawsuit is unfortunate and regressive,” said May Mailman, director of Independent Women’s Law Center, the legal advocacy arm of Independent Women’s Forum. “Nondiscrimination laws like Minnesota’s are designed to preserve equality; they are not weapons to destroy opportunities for women. We look forward to USA Powerlifting’s victory.”
“The core of this case is simple: fairness. When male athletes are allowed to compete in women’s sports, we are not just erasing the hard-fought progress of Title IX, we are endangering female athletes and undermining the integrity of competition,” said James Dickey, UMLC senior trial counsel. “The Minnesota Human Rights Act must not be twisted into a tool that forces women to compete at an inherent disadvantage.”
Click here to view the amicus curiae brief filed in the Minnesota Supreme Court.
