NPR Removes Contextualizing Statement on Transgender Athletes

A recent update to a news article on NPR's website removed a statement that contextualized the Supreme Court's ruling on transgender athletes participating in women's and girls' sports. The original article stated that 'states can bar trans girls and women from participating in school sports teams,' but also noted that 'states that choose to may also allow trans athletes to participate.' This sentence was removed in the updated version. The change simplifies the article's tone and focus on the ruling, potentially shifting the emphasis from the nuances of the decision to its more restrictive implications. This edit matters because it may influence how readers understand the court's decision and its potential impact on transgender athletes, particularly those in states with bans. The change could be seen as downplaying the fact that some states may still allow trans athletes to participate, which could be important context for readers considering the ruling's implications.

Related Changes

SCOTUS upholds bans on transgender athletes participating in women and girls' sports +936 -28
− Selena Simmons-Duffin The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that states can bar trans girls and women from participating in school sports teams.
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+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics SCOTUS upholds bans on transgender athletes participating in women and girls' sports The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that states can bar trans girls and women from participating in school sports teams.
But states that choose to may also allow trans athletes to participate.
+ Law SCOTUS upholds bans on transgender athletes participating in women and girls' sports July 1, 20264:53 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition Selena Simmons-Duffin SCOTUS upholds bans on transgender athletes participating in women and girls' sports Listen &middot; 2:41 2:41 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5876283/nx-s1-9831831" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that states can bar trans girls and women from participating in school sports teams. But states that choose to may also allow trans athletes to participate. Sponsor Message MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: One of the Supreme Court's final decisions of the year ruled against a pair of transgender student athletes. In a 6-3 ruling, the court said states can ban transgender women and girls from sports teams at schools that receive public funding, which nearly all schools do. NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin spoke to one family trying to figure out what the ruling means for them.
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+ SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE: I caught Abbott (ph), who's 13, and his mom, Emily (ph), on the way out the door to baseball travel team tryouts. EMILY: You not only do baseball. What else do you do? ABBOTT: I do tennis, sailing and basketball. Yeah, and I do track and cross-country. EMILY: Sports is what makes him happy. SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Emily asked that NPR not use their last name because Abbott's not out as transgender to everyone in their community. The Supreme Court's ruling doesn't affect him directly. He's a transgender boy, for one, and he lives in Massachusetts, which allows him to play on boys' teams. But he can't help but think about what it would be like to live in a state with a ban. ABBOTT: If that happened to me, I'd be really, really, really depressed and not - because I can't play any sports. And then I'll just stay home every single day doing nothing. SIMMONS-DUFFIN: The cases ruled on by the Supreme Court came from Idaho and West Virginia. They're among the 27 states that ban trans students in girls' sports. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey shared an interview he did with MetroNews on social media. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PATRICK MORRISEY: Now, in West Virginia and across the country, we can stand for these commonsense provisions that are going to allow women to safely participate in sports without worrying about biological males coming in and creating a ruckus. SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Abbott's mom, Emily, is an athlete herself - a champion rower - and her two daughters play sports, too. She's more worried about what the ruling means for her daughters than for Abbott. EMILY: I feel that it just is really opening the door to a lot more abuse and policing of women's bodies. So it's definitely not making women's sports safer, in my opinion. SIMMONS-DUFFIN: She says she wasn't surprised by the ruling. EMILY: It could have been worse. SIMMONS-DUFFIN: The Supreme Court ruled specifically on girls' school sports and didn't get into broader issues. It also allows supportive states to continue to include trans students in sports. For Abbott in Massachusetts, even with the support of his state, he says he still hesitates to share with some teammates that he's trans, afraid to lose a friendship. EMILY: They might think you're not a good player if they knew that you were trans. ABBOTT: Or, like, I'm not a good person. EMILY: Or not a good person. SIMMONS-DUFFIN: For now, even after the Supreme Court ruling, Abbott can keep playing, and with that, they're off to baseball tryouts. Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{309:function(e,n,o){o.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([o.e(1),o.e(2),o.e(3),o.e(4),o.e(81)]).then((e=>{o(15),o(770),o(154),o(175),o(93),o(448),o(253),o(128),o(130),o(755),o(174),o(756),o(254),o(77),o(774)}).bind(null,o)).catch(o.oe)},783:function(e,n,o){e.exports=o(309)}},[[783,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();