Dear John,
As a wife, a mother of female athletes, and a coach’s daughter, January 13, 2026, was a long-awaited moment for many of us who have been working to protect women and girls’ athletics for over a decade. It’s been close to 12 years since I first had to take the stand to defend female athletes when the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) laid the groundwork for erasing girls’ sports. The League wholeheartedly embraced policies allowing unfair competition between male and female athletes. It changed its bylaws to allow males to play on girls’ sports teams despite significant opposition and incontrovertible statistics showing that males have a significant competitive advantage and may risk injuring female competitors
This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two landmark cases that will impact the future of women’s and girls’ sports in America, and I was privileged to be in the Court room to hear it all unfold.
In these cases, the Court must address the constitutionality of laws enacted making clear that sports categories should be based on biological sex, not gender identity. Specifically, the laws are Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, the first law in the country to pass in 2020, and West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act.
True North Legal and Kansas Family Voice were honored to write an amicus brief in this case, representing Idaho’s Chief Author of the sports bill, Rep. Barbara Ehardt and 206 female legislators across the country (including every Republican state female legislator in Minnesota), as well as 38 family policy councils from across the country. You can learn more about our advocacy in this short video.
Rep. Ehardt (also known as Coach Ehardt) is a pioneer for women’s and girls’ opportunities under Title IX, and we owe her our gratitude for being a significant part of what could likely be the path to justice for women and girls at the U.S. Supreme Court. Rep. Ehardt and her colleagues share so much more than a sports experience. The opportunity to play sports create confidence and comradeship among young girls, giving them leadership and life skills. Sports are not just about winning, they teach every athlete how to be better when we lose or have a hard day. These are real and formative life lessons that these female legislators have carried into their experiences as leaders in their respective states.
As Justice Kavanaugh aptly noted, “[O]ne of the great successes in America over the last 50 years has been the growth of women and girls' sports, and it's inspiring. . . [F]or the individual girl who does not make the team or doesn't get on the stand for the medal or doesn't make all league, . . . there's a harm there, and I think we can't sweep that aside.” He is right.
After a lively oral argument this week, I am hopeful that the Court will uphold the laws at issue in these cases, bringing us one step closer to ensuring justice for women and girls. Be assured that True North Legal understands the bigger picture. We know that real battle has always been much bigger than sports; it is the quest to upend objective truth and the reality that human beings exist as men and women. You can read more about what I saw on the frontlines in this article.
Thanks to your generous support and the Lord’s provision, we will keep advancing THE truth here in Minnesota, just like we did with our allies at the U.S. Supreme Court this week!
