An Owensboro native is reflecting on her role in one of the nation’s most closely watched U.S. Supreme Court cases after the justices upheld West Virginia’s law limiting girls’ and women’s school sports teams to biological females.
Lainey Armistead, a former soccer player at West Virginia State University and now a licensed attorney, intervened in West Virginia v. B.P.J. to represent the interests of female athletes. The case challenged West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act and ultimately reached the nation’s highest court after years of litigation.
“It’s amazing. It’s surreal,” Armistead said. “I remember whenever I talked to [Owensboro Times] last time, I also thought it was surreal that the United States Supreme Court was taking up a case that had a girl from Owensboro, Kentucky, in it. And now not only have they taken it up, we won.”
According to Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Suzanne Beecher, the Supreme Court ruled that West Virginia’s law does not violate Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause, allowing states to maintain similar protections for female athletes, and the decision directly affects the 27 states that have enacted comparable laws while providing legal guidance for states considering similar legislation.
“We’re so excited, and we feel like this is a big win for reality and for women and girls in sports,” Armistead said.
Armistead’s involvement in the case began in 2021 while she was a student-athlete at West Virginia State.
She started playing soccer at a young age in Owensboro and eventually earned a full athletic scholarship to play for the Yellow Jackets. After West Virginia enacted its law protecting women’s sports, she decided to become involved after learning about female athletes in Connecticut represented by Alliance Defending Freedom who challenged similar policies.
“I knew that what happened to them was not right,” Armistead said. “They were displaced. They had to race against a male, and they lost. I knew that I needed to do something. I felt an obligation to stand up for girls everywhere.”
Over the course of the litigation, Armistead graduated from college, completed law school and recently became a licensed attorney.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Suzanne Beecher said the Supreme Court’s decision answered an important legal question.
“The Supreme Court was looking at the question of whether states may protect female athletes under Title IX and equal protection, and it found that they can,” Beecher said.
Beecher said Armistead joined the lawsuit as an intervenor, allowing her to represent the perspective of female athletes alongside the state. In January, she attended oral arguments before the Supreme Court.
“I had the privilege of watching a case that was my case,” Armistead said.
She called sitting inside the courtroom as the justices considered the case a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“It was truly an experience I never would have imagined I would have,” Armistead said.
She said watching the attorneys throughout the case also strengthened her desire to pursue a legal career.
“Seeing my attorneys, it’s really inspired me to become a really great attorney and to be an advocate for my clients,” Armistead said. “I’ve been represented for five years, and it’s been a scary but amazing experience. I truly hope that I can be just as great of an attorney as the ones who have represented me.”
Although she acknowledged becoming a public face in a highly debated issue has brought challenges, Armistead said she has focused on the support she has received.
“I really don’t focus on the negative because I’ve just had an outpouring of love and support from so many different people, not only in my hometown but also around the nation,” she said.
Armistead said she hopes the ruling encourages young female athletes to continue participating in sports and to speak up when they believe something is important.
“I never would have imagined that a girl from Owensboro, Kentucky, would be sitting in front of the highest court of the land and that my voice mattered,” she said. “I think that’s really important for our young generation of girls. Stay in sports. Use your voice, because it matters.”
