A transgender powerlifter who is a biological male has won a discrimination lawsuit against USA Powerlifting.
JayCee Cooper filed a discrimination claim with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in 2019 against USA Powerlifting for banning Cooper and all other trans women athletes from participating in women’s competitions, KARE-TV reported.
Then Cooper — through Gender Justice — filed a 2021 lawsuit against USA Powerlifting, the station said.
KARE reported that a judge has ruled that USA Powerlifting did discriminate against Cooper.
“I was fed up with the way that I was being treated, I was fed up with the way that my community was being treated, and enough was enough,” Cooper told the station.
“I feel mostly relief,” Cooper added to KARE. “I think we needed a win here, and it feels good to get that.”
The station noted that Cooper said in a 2021 video produced by Gender Justice that “I never even got a chance, you know? No one should have to experience that kind of isolation and othering.”
The ruling includes a cease-and-desist order on USA Powerlifting regarding all unfair discriminatory practices in relation to sexual orientation as well as a request that the agency submit a revised policy, KARE said.
Cooper added to the station: “After years of experiencing discrimination from USA Powerlifting, and the backlash that has occurred due to that, of course I have complex feelings about the sport. But I think that this win … is a representation of where we can move forward.”
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