New York, 4th April, 2023 – Yesterday, Pallas Partners (US) LLP filed an amicus brief on behalf of The Trevor Project in support of a transgender student athlete challenging West Virginia’s law prohibiting transgender women and girls from participating in public school sports consistent with their gender identity.
“All children should be welcome on school sports teams given the emotional and physical benefits of playing on a team,” said Pallas Partner Shireen Barday. “Pallas Partners is grateful to partner with The Trevor Project in raising awareness about the importance of ensuring that transgender youth can play on sports teams — just like everyone else.”
Pallas Partners (US) LLP, along with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, is pro bono counsel to The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ young people and has been actively working to secure access to inclusive sports teams for transgender athletes.
“With transgender youth already facing high rates of depression, anxiety and suicidality, it is of critical importance that this community be allowed to participate in sports and reap the same mental health benefits as their cisgender peers,” The Trevor Project brief states. The brief also reports that many transgender youth confirm that “playing sports improved their depression and anxiety.”
The case is B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education, No. 23-1078 (4th Cir.). The Trevor Project’s amicus brief can be found here.
The Trevor Project’s 2022 U.S. National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health by State found that 60% of transgender and nonbinary youth in West Virginia seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, and 14% attempted suicide. At a national level, The Trevor Project’s data has found that 71% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported that they have experienced discrimination based on their gender identity. And research has found that transgender and nonbinary youth who report experiencing discrimination based on their gender identity had more than double the odds of attempting suicide in the past year compared to those who did not.
Recent polling from The Trevor Project about the impact of anti-trans bills found that 86% of transgender and nonbinary youth say recent debates around anti-trans bills have negatively impacted their mental health. When asked about new policies that would ban transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams and transgender boys from playing on boys’ sports teams, 64% of transgender and nonbinary youth said it made them feel angry, 44% felt sad, 39% felt stressed, and 1 in 4 felt scared.
