The United States Supreme Court on Thursday has allowed a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia to continue competing on the girls’ sports teams at her middle school while a lawsuit over a state ban continues. A majority of the justices refused to disturb an appeals court order that made it possible for the girl, Becky Pepper-Jackson, to continue playing on her school’s track and cross-country teams, where she regularly finishes near the back of the pack. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas issued a dissent, indicating they would have allowed West Virginia to enforce its law against Pepper-Jackson. Pepper-Jackson is in the middle of the outdoor track season. She had filed a lawsuit challenging the law, the Save Women’s Sports Act, which West Virginia lawmakers adopted in 2021. West Virginia is among 20 states that ban transgender athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, according to Movement Advancement Project, a pro-LGBTQ rights think-tank.