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EXCLUSIVE: Former Idaho State University women’s cross-country runner Mary Kate Marshall will continue her role in a potential landmark women’s sports legal battle that’s set to reach the Supreme Court after a federal judge’s ruling this week.
U.S. District Judge David Nye rejected a transgender athlete’s request to drop the current Hecox v. Little lawsuit, which Marshall has been a defendant in since 2020 after having to compete against a biological male, keeping the case on track to be heard by Supreme Court justices early next year.
Marshall told Fox News Digital what Nye’s ruling means to her.
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“This case gives the Supreme Court the opportunity to affirm that women and girls have the right to compete fairly. Sports have shaped the skills I use every day—skills I wouldn’t have developed without the opportunity for safe and fair competition. Women’s voices deserve to be heard loud and clear at SCOTUS with one clear message: Biological men have no place in women’s sports,” Marshall said.
Marshall, alongside former ISU teammate Madison Kenyon, joined the defendant list in Hecox v. Little after having to face trans athlete June Eastwood of the University of Montana in 2020.
Former Idaho State University women’s athletes Mary Kate Marshall and Madison Kenyon (Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom)
They were originally the ones trying to have the case dismissed after another transgender athlete, Lindsay Hecox, filed a lawsuit to block Idaho’s law preventing trans athletes from competing in women’s sport in order to join Boise State’s women’s cross-country team.
“[Kenyon and Marshall] were incredulous and appalled to discover last year that … Eastwood was authorized to compete in women’s cross-country and track events,” Marshall and Kenyon’s original 2020 motion stated.
“Both [Kenyon] and [Marshall’ had the deflating experiences of running against and losing to Eastwood and being knocked down a placement level because of his participation. They found the experience of losing to a male runner categorically different than losing to a female.”
Kenyon previously told Fox News Digital about her experience facing a biological male.
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“My coach sat us down in the room and told us that we would be competing against a male athlete at a specific meet and just let us know. And I remember sitting there and kind of like, looking around the room being like, ‘Well, what do my teammates think about this? What do we do?’” Kenyon said.
“So, for us, it was not a matter of whether I’m going to compete or not. I’m going to put everything out there that I have and see what happens. And sure enough, this male athlete beat me, beat all my teammates and that continued to happen the entire season. So, that’s when I said, ‘This isn’t fair.'”
Hecox’s challenge was successful, as a federal judge blocked Idaho’s state law. A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld an injunction blocking the state law in 2023.
But then this July, after years of fighting, Marshall, Kenyon, their attorneys and Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador were able to get the Supreme Court to hear their case. Hecox then tried to have the case dismissed, before Nye’s ruling this week.
Marshall and Kenyon’s attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) spoke out as well.
“Women and girls deserve to compete on a level playing field. But activists continue their quest to erase differences between men and women by forcing schools to allow men to compete in women’s sports. This contradicts biological reality and common sense. That’s why we are pleased the district court rejected the attempt to end this case before it is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court,” ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch told Fox News Digital.
“The Constitution and Title IX allow states to protect women and girls by reserving women’s sports for women. We are eager to soon stand alongside the state of Idaho in arguing this case before the high court and urging it to listen to the countless girls across the country speaking out on this issue and restore fairness and safety for female athletes.”
Hecox’s attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Cooley, LLP, and Legal Voice, provided a statement to Fox News Digital after U.S. District Judge David Nye rejected the trans athlete’s motion to dismiss the case on Tuesday.
“Lindsay ended her participation in any women’s athletic programs covered by HB 500 to prioritize finishing her degree at Boise State and her personal safety and wellness. Lindsay withdrew her challenge to Idaho’s HB 500 and that remains unchanged,” the statement read.
“We will continue to advocate for the rights of all women and girls, including transgender women and girls.”
Hecox’s efforts to have the case dropped aren’t completely over, as SCOTUS must still rule on whether the case is moot. But Labrador, who is leading the defense against Hecox, believes Nye’s ruling is a “good sign” for their efforts to take the case to the highest court in the nation, and achieve a landmark ruling.
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Labrador previously said he hopes for the Supreme Court to cast a decision with a wider impact than just letting one state carry out its own specific law on the issue. He wants a new national precedent.
“I believe that that’s what they’re gonna do,” Labrador previously told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “I think they’re going to have a big ruling on whether men can participate in women’s sports, and more importantly, how to determine whether transgender individuals are protected by the federal constitution and state and federal laws.”
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