A.M. v. Indiana (U.S.C.A. 7th Circuit, 2022)

This case involves a challenge to Indiana’s 2022 sports ban targeting transgender girls and young women. The ACLU brought the case on behalf of A.M., a 10-year-old transgender girl who was forced to leave her elementary school softball team as a result of the ban. A.M. won a preliminary injunction finding that the ban likely violates Title IX, and Indiana appealed. ADL joined 58 other organizations in an amicus brief led by the National Women’s Law Center in support of A.M. The brief highlights how sports bans like Indiana’s are based on debunked sex stereotypes and undermine opportunities for all girls and women seeking to play team sports at school. These laws harm transgender and cisgender girls and women by reinforcing sexist, racist stereotypes about femininity, with women and girls of color disproportionately targeted and harmed. Such bans actually force schools to violate Title IX and the Equal Protection clause by imposing sex discrimination on school teams.