USA Powerlifting has reached a settlement with trans-identifying male powerlifter JayCee Cooper, ending a legal battle that has stretched more than six years.
But the organization made clear on Tuesday that it is not backing off its stance on sex-based competition.
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In a press release sent to OutKick and Fox News Digital, USA Powerlifting said the case “turned on the ability of sporting organizations to maintain categories based on male and female physiology to ensure fair competition in strength-based sports.”
The settlement follows a complicated October ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court, which found that USA Powerlifting had discriminated against Cooper under the state’s Human Rights Act — while simultaneously allowing the organization to argue its policy was justified under a “legitimate business purpose” defense.
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Rather than continue down that legal path, USAPL opted to resolve the case.
“We continue to believe strongly in the merits of our case, which are supported by global competition standards and bipartisan public sentiment,” former USAPL president and national women’s powerlifting coach Larry Maile said. “But left with few legal options, settlement is in the best interests of the organization.”
From the beginning, USA Powerlifting has argued that its policy is rooted in biology, not gender identity.
As the organization previously told OutKick, “Our policy is based on the indisputable fact that men are generally stronger than women.”
That argument is backed by research cited in the case showing biological males retain a significant strength advantage — even after testosterone suppression — a key point USAPL says is critical in a sport defined by who can lift the most weight.
To balance inclusion and fairness, USAPL created an “MX Division” in 2021 for transgender and nonbinary athletes, while maintaining separate male and female categories.
“They’re motivated to find a way to include transgender athletes,” attorney Ansis Viksnins told OutKick last fall. “But not at the expense of completely dismantling competition categories.”
The timing of the settlement is notable.
It comes as international governing bodies are increasingly moving toward sex-based standards. This includes the International Olympic Committee, which recently implemented a sex testing policy to prevent trans-identifying males from competing in women’s events.
“As athletic organizations around the world increasingly codify sex-based competition categories, the state supreme court’s ruling has placed Minnesota increasingly at odds with national and international sports standards,” USAPL said.
Maile was even more direct about the implications of the ruling.
“What the plaintiffs cast as a victory for transgender rights is a ruling that has forced Minnesota to take a step backward for women, fair competition and common sense,” he said.
One of the key sticking points for USA Powerlifting was losing the opportunity to take its case to a jury.
According to the organization, Cooper’s legal team indicated they would drop the claim that would have allowed that to happen — effectively closing the door on what USAPL had pursued for years.
“This action denied USAPL the opportunity it had sought for six years: to present arguments to a jury demonstrating transgender women have an inherent strength advantage in powerlifting that warrants maintaining sex-based categories,” the organization said
USA Powerlifting said it has not yet determined how it will proceed in Minnesota following the ruling and settlement, noting it will review its options in the coming weeks. Its operations in other states are unaffected.
Still, the organization made clear it believes the broader issue is far from settled.
“The fact remains that Minnesota is increasingly out of step with unrefuted science showing a 64% strength advantage for male-born athletes,” Maile said.
And despite the legal outcome, USAPL’s position hasn’t changed: “When fairness is the foundation of sport, categories matter.”
