Melania Trump supports LGBTQIA backs court sports ruling

First Lady Melania Trump issued a rare public statement on Tuesday, expressing support for the LGBTQIA community while endorsing a Supreme Court ruling that allows states to restrict women's and girls' sports teams to biological females. The statement, posted on social media, came hours after the high court's 6-3 decision in a pair of consolidated cases from West Virginia and Idaho.

The Supreme Court ruled that states may determine eligibility for women's and girls' sports based on biological sex, holding that such policies are consistent with Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision upholds state laws, often called "Save Women's Sports" acts, that require student-athletes to compete on teams matching their sex assigned at birth. Writing for the majority, the court stated that maintaining separate teams for biological males and females reduces the risk of physical injury and ensures fair competition, and that allowing transgender athletes on girls' teams can displace biological female athletes.

In her statement, Melania Trump quoted from her memoir, writing that she "fully...