Thirteen-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson of West Virginia is a lover of discus, shot-put, and track and field. She has been a part of her school’s teams, and she often practices her skills outside in the rain, her mother says. She has been barred, however, from being a part of her school’s team recently due to all these laws against trans students joining their affirming teams. But Becky Pepper-Jackson and her mother, Heather Jackson, are fighting back.
The Jackson family has been fighting against these inane laws barring trans students from joining sports for over two years now. These laws have become all too common, with many states instating laws to keep their students from joining extracurricular activities instead of focusing on student safety, curriculum, and other things that matter more than whether or not a trans student should be allowed to join a sports team. Becky Pepper-Jackson says on her battle with the courts on her ability to play sports, “I want to keep going because this is something I love to do, and I’m not just going to give it up. This is something I truly love, and I’m not going to give up for anything.”
Heather, Jackson, Becky’s mom, says on the matter, “We’re just country people from West Virginia, so it’s a little overwhelming. I’m nervous for (Becky), because I know what joy she gets from doing her sports, and every kid needs sports. It’s just a moral foundation they need to get. They learn responsibility; they learn camaraderie; they learn that people depend on them. And I see how much fun she has.”
The Justice presiding over the case had no evidence to prove that trans students have more of an advantage as compared to cis students. During the case, he used the argument that he coached a basketball team, so he knows what he’s talking about. Becky Pepper-Jackson is currently on puberty-blockers, so even if there was physical evidence lending to biologically male bodies being stronger than biologically female ones, it would not apply here.
