We have followed the case of JayCee Cooper v. USA Powerlifting in a series of posts I call “A lift too far.” Ramsey County District Judge Patrick Diamond has held USA Powerlifting to be in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act by separating “trans women” from women in its weightlifting competitions. He has ordered USA Powerlifting to let “trans woman” JayCee Cooper compete as a woman. He (Judge Diamond) calls Cooper “she” even though Cooper lacks what we have in our hidebound way traditionally deemed to be the necessities. See, for example, this NBC News backgrounder by Alex Berg.
Forgive me for repeating that I first learned about the Cooper case and Judge Diamond’s decision in the March 1 Star Tribune op-ed column by Minnesota Lynx president and coach Cheryl Reeve celebrating Judge Diamond’s holding. In her Star Tribune column Reeve omitted any discussion of the possible participation of “trans women” athletes in the WNBA.
I seriously doubt that Reeve has thought her way through to the possibility of a WNBA championship anchored by athletes who might be more equal than the biological women to whom she has otherwise limited her roster, or to the possibility that “trans women” athletes might obviate the purpose of a “W”NBA. You don’t want to overthink the situation, but thinking should still be permitted. Reeve’s column shows no evidence of thought.
In an April 11 hearing Judge Diamond shut down USA Powerlifting in Minnesota. When I went in search of the order in Minnesota Court Records Online, I found that Judge Diamond has yet to reduce his shutdown order to writing. That remains the case as I write today. However, the court has now posted a transcript of the April 11 hearing online here. The transcript pages are unnumbered.
Judge Diamond explained to counsel for USA Powerlifting that, given his workload, it might be a matter of weeks before he got around to filing a written order — “[s]o I want to give it to you now so that you can take whatever action or inaction you see fit.”
“So I want to give it to you good and hard” would have been more like it.
Judge Diamond stated further that he was “really left with no option other than to direct the USAPL to cease operations at all. It is enjoined from holding any events in the state of Minnesota, competitive or otherwise. It is similarly enjoined at least until the Court files its written order from selling memberships to identified residents of the state of Minnesota.” He is mulling over his authority to extend the order nationwide.
Although Cooper’s damages have yet to be determined, USA Powerlifting has appealed the orders entered by Judge Diamond to the Minnesota Court of Appeals as appealable injunctions. Trial has been stayed pending appeal.
We first heard about the shutdown order from a Power Line reader who was training for an August competition that is now in limbo thanks to Judge Diamond. So far as I know, we and NRO are the only outlets to have reported on the extent of Judge Diamond’s efforts to bend reality to the will of JayCee Cooper and his supporters.