A transgender student at Boise State University wants to drop her five-year legal battle over Idaho’s transgender athletics ban.
And last week, Lindsay Hecox asked the U.S. Supreme Court to drop the case — instead of hearing arguments for and against the law.
Filed Sept. 2, Hecox’s motion is the latest twist in a dispute that began in March 2020, when Idaho became the first state to pass a law banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports.
Twenty-six other states have passed similar bans, but Idaho’s law remains mired in court. Siding with Hecox, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has blocked the law from going into effect. Attorney General Raúl Labrador appealed. In July, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear Idaho’s case — setting the stage for a high-profile hearing, and a landmark ruling in the national debate over transgender athletics.
Hecox now wants to walk away from the matter entirely.
In her motion — called a “suggestion of mootness” — Hecox said there is no reason for the Supreme Court to hear the matter, because she said she is no longer pursuing a challenge to the Idaho law.
Hecox said she is no longer seeking to participate in women’s sports at Boise State, and is focusing on graduating in 2026.
“After deep consideration, and despite the positive role that women’s team sports have played in my life, including at BSU, I have made the extremely difficult decision to cease playing women’s sports … and to dismiss my case,” Hecox wrote.
“I am afraid that if I continue my lawsuit, I will personally be subjected to harassment that will negatively impact my mental health, my safety, and my ability to graduate as soon as possible.”
Hecox said she had been playing women’s club soccer at Boise State, but has left the team.
Hecox filed a lawsuit against the transgender athletics law in April 2020. At the time, she was a Boise State freshman. Hecox tried out for Boise State’s women’s cross-country and track teams, but did not make either squad.
The motion does not bring the high-profile appeal to a standstill.
In a filing with the court Wednesday, Labrador’s office said it will oppose Hecox’s motion. The Supreme Court gave Labrador’s office a Sept. 26 deadline to file a formal response.
More reading: Coverage from the Idaho Statesman, which first wrote about Hecox’s motion.
