5 days ago
Obama-appointed judge throws out girls' lawsuit over having to compete against trans athlete
A Pennsylvania teen had her lawsuit over having to face a trans athlete against her high school dismissed by a federal judge.
Quakertown Community High School girls' cross-country and track runner Aislin Magalengo sued the school and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) earlier this year. The lawsuit alleges Magalengo was made to compete against a trans student at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School at a cross-country meet in September 2024.
Allen won first place at the meet, while Magalengo came in second. The lawsuit claims Magalengo continued to compete against Allen throughout the season.
U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone dismissed the suit on Aug. 1. Beetlestone was appointed by former president Barack Obama in November 2014.
"Her Amended Complaint is devoid of any factual allegations that she was subject to purposeful discrimination, other than asserting as much in the most conclusory fashion," wrote Judge Wendy Beetlestone in her decision. "She points to no instances of students assigned female at birth being treated differently than those assigned male at birth, and, as such, she has failed to plausibly state a claim for sex-based discrimination."
The plaintiffs' attorney, Keith Altman, said they will appeal the decision.
"The client's disappointed, obviously, and still believes strongly in what's happened," Altman said, per NBC Philadelphia. "We're going to continue pursuing the issue. We think it's an extremely important issue, and it's got to be resolved.
"It is irrefutable that males, as a general proposition, are more physically capable than females. We think that it is fundamentally unfair that somebody that simply says, 'Well, I identify as a female' is now able to compete with females and dominate women's athletics. It just doesn't make sense."
