The Minnesota Court of Appeals has sent the case of a transgender powerlifter back to Ramsey County District to determine whether she was barred from participating in women’s competitions because of her sexual orientation.

A year ago, Ramsey County District Judge Patrick Diamond sided with JayCee Cooper, then 35, of Minneapolis, finding that USA Powerlifting engaged in discriminatory practices by prohibiting the transgender athlete from competing.

A claim of an unfair performance advantage because of sexual orientation or sex — as USA Powerlifting officials have contended — is not a reason to discriminate, Diamond wrote in his Feb. 27, 2023, ruling. The judge ordered the Alaska-based organization to “cease and desist from the unfair discriminatory practice” and to revise its policies within two weeks.

In its decision released Monday, the appellate court affirmed that discrimination against athletes based on gender identity violates the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

However, the appellate court found Diamond erred by granting Cooper’s motion for partial summary judgment on Cooper’s claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation in a place of public accommodations and in business, “because there are genuine issues of material fact as to whether USAPL’s decision to exclude Cooper … was motivated by her sexual orientation (i.e., transgender status).”

The appellate court reversed the district court’s Feb. 27, 2023, and April 11, 2023, orders for injunctive relief.

“We remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion,” the ruling read.

Policy question

Attorneys for Gender Justice filed the lawsuit against USA Powerlifting and USA Powerlifting Minnesota on behalf of Cooper in June 2021, alleging violations of Minnesota’s Human Rights Act. The lawsuit came two years after the St. Paul-based legal and policy advocacy group filed a charge of discrimination with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

According to the 2021 lawsuit, Cooper had trained for and registered in 2018 to compete in the 2019 USAPL Minnesota State Bench Press Championship in Maplewood and the Minnesota Women’s State Championship.

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