This high school sophomore is aiming for a Supreme Court upset in transgender sports case
January 11, 2026
Pepper-Jackson says she’s been a girl for as long as she can remember.
Fifteen year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson
Becky Pepper-Jackson, the high school sophomore at the center of the Supreme Court appeal on transgender sports, flashes a grin when asked to describe the basic technique of the shot put, one of her favorite track and field events.
“It’s just throwing something that’s heavy,” the 15-year-old West Virginian said. “Far.”
That description could also apply to her blockbuster legal case.
While Pepper-Jackson sounds like any teen navigating school assignments, friends and a demanding practice schedule, the transgender girl has also been carrying the weight of a national cultural and political battle that will reach a crescendo Tuesday when the Supreme Court debates two appeals dealing with state bans on trans girls playing on women’s teams.
And Pepper-Jackson understands that — in the hands of a 6-3 conservative court that has been increasingly skeptical of transgender rights — her effort is a long shot.
So, too, is the question of whether transgender people are entitled to the same anti-discrimination protections that race and sex have under the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court dodged that question in last year’s decision on transgender care bans, US v. Skrmetti, though several conservative justices indicated in separate opinions that they believe the answer to that question is “no.”
Pepper-Jackson and her family are aware of those challenges. But, they said, they believe they’re engaged in a longer game.
“Getting this far and bringing light to this case and showing that this is an issue,” Pepper-Jackson said, “is a win.”
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See also Huffpost: The Supreme Court’s Trans Athlete Ban Cases Are About Much More Than Sports
Kel O’Hara, a senior attorney at Equal Rights Advocates, a San Francisco-based nonprofit gender justice organization:
Anti-trans sports laws embolden harassment not just towards trans women and girls but also cis women. There have already been numerous instances of adults — including school officials — harassing and investigating girl athletes who were assumed to be trans because of their gender expression or appearance.
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