Courageous Transgender Girl Medals At WVA State Track Meet

Although Becky Pepper-Jackson wasn't listed on the 2024 Indian's Track and Field Roster, at age 14, Becky has already won a place on our roster of iconic trans warriors

Becky Pepper-Jackson has always known she is a girl; her mom confirms, and has fought and won when West Virginia passed a law specifically denying her the right to play sports.

During a track meet in May, Becky, now a freshman at Bridgeport (W.V.) High took third place in the discus throw, making her the first trans student to medal in the history of the state.

In the Class AAA girls discus event, her 122-foot, 11-inch effort was good enough for bronze. With the third-place finish, Pepper-Jackson became the first trans student-athlete to also score points and finish on the medal podium at these championships. Her effort was 19 feet behind the winning throw by Cierra Groom, who won her second-straight state title in Class AAA, Out Sports reports.

Becky at age 11 as a middle school student, made headlines when she participated in the girls' sports team.

But state lawmakers had other plans, the ACLU reports. During the 2021 session, the West Virginia Legislature passed HB 3293 , which bans trans girls from participating in sports. Becky and her mom, Heather, wrote and called Gov. Jim Justice’s office several times asking for a veto, but Justice signed it into law despite tens of thousands of similar phone calls, emails, and letters.

The ACLU and Lambda Legal challenged the law, but a federal judge ruled in favor of West Virginia. They then took the challenge to the  4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled the law unconstitutional. Not satisfied, WVa appealed to the US Supreme Court, but SCOTUS didn't accept the case and sent the lawsuit back to lower courts, where it is currently being litigated.

Through all of this, Becky has increasingly become the focus of right-wing anti trans propagandist sites like faux news, and the current governor's hatred of gender diversity.

Becky Pepper-Jackson, is a hero, and her accomplishments should be recognized, especially in the face of such adversity. After all, the girl just wants to play.