Melania Trump Cites Memoir After SCOTUS Ruling On Girls’ Sports

First Lady Melania Trump praised Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling allowing states to protect women’s and girls’ sports by limiting female athletic categories to biological females, saying the decision reflects a position she has long held.

In a post on X, Melania Trump cited a passage from her best-selling memoir, Melania, while arguing that Americans can support the LGBTQIA+ community and still defend fairness for female athletes.

“As many of you may know, I fully support the LGBTQIA+ community. But we must also ensure that our female athletes are protected and respected,” the first lady wrote, pointing readers to page 156 of her memoir.

She then quoted from the Supreme Court’s landmark 6-3 decision.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has now legally confirmed this opinion: ‘Under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, may schools maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females? … The answer is yes,’” Trump wrote.

The first lady framed the issue as one of balance, respect, and fairness.

“America, we can support the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and also protect opportunities for female athletes,” she added. “Respect everyone and keep girls’ sports fair. Both ideals are essential.”

Her comments came shortly after the Supreme Court established a major nationwide precedent allowing states to maintain women’s and girls’ sports teams for biological females.

The ruling centered on whether states may establish athletic eligibility rules based on biological sex under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.

The Court held that they may.

The decision recognized the physical differences between males and females that have long formed the basis for separate athletic categories.

“The differences [between mean and women] include, among other things, height, weight, strength, speed, endurance, and jumping ability,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote.

“Therefore, in contact sports, forcing female athletes to compete against males can create significant safety risks. And in virtually all competitive sports, forcing female athletes to compete against males can undermine competitive fairness,” Kavanaugh added.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor submitted an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined portions of that opinion, while Jackson also submitted her own partial concurrence and partial dissent.

The Court’s ruling affirmed that states may establish eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Cooley Legal represented the transgender athletes challenging the laws.

Alliance Defending Freedom supported the states defending protections for female athletes.

More than half of U.S. states currently enforce laws protecting women’s sports without the threat of legal challenge.

However, 23 states still lack such protections, and some have policies or laws allowing transgender-identifying athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports.

President Donald Trump made the issue a national priority after returning to the White House.

On February 5, 2025, he signed the “No Men In Women’s Sports” executive order, which placed additional restrictions on transgender athletes and directed states and institutions to comply with federal policy recognizing biological sex.

The order also led to a public clash between Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills shortly after it was signed.

Trump repeatedly warned that federal funding could be suspended for states that refused to comply with the order.

His administration froze some Maine funding, though a federal judge later ruled that the funds had to be restored.

The Supreme Court’s ruling now gives states stronger legal ground to protect female athletic categories through legislation.

The Idaho case involved Lindsay Hecox, a 24-year-old transgender woman who challenged the state’s law after seeking to try out for the women’s track and cross-country teams at Boise State University.

Although Hecox did not make either varsity team, Hecox later participated in club sports.

The West Virginia case was filed by Heather Jackson on behalf of her child, B.P.J., a 15-year-old transgender high school student who has publicly identified as a girl since elementary school.

According to court filings, B.P.J. has received puberty blockers and estrogen hormone therapy and has competed on school track and cross-country teams.

For conservatives, the ruling represents a major victory for common sense, fairness, and the rights of female athletes.

Women’s sports were created to ensure girls and women have a fair chance to compete, earn scholarships, set records, and participate safely.

Melania Trump’s response offered a softer but firm version of that argument: respecting people does not require erasing biological reality or sacrificing opportunities for girls.

The left has spent years insisting that protecting women’s sports is hateful or discriminatory.

But the first lady’s message was simple.

Americans can treat everyone with dignity while still keeping girls’ sports fair.

And now, the Supreme Court has affirmed that states have the authority to do exactly that.