In a 5-4 decision last Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded Title IX — the 1972 education amendment guaranteeing gender equality in education programs — to protect whistleblowers who witness and speak out against sexual discrimination.

Such a ruling was absolutely appropriate. In fact, we can’t understand why this case was even heard by the country’s highest court — this decision should have been reached by the first court to hear the case.

The case involved an Alabama high school girls basketball coach, Roderick Jackson, who sued his school district after being fired for questioning the glaring inequity between his team and the school’s boys team. Protection for people like Jackson who fight to uphold the law is imperative if the rule of law is to be preserved. That should be self-evident. With their rulings and opinions, lower courts (and four Supreme Court justices) gave tacit approval to intimidation of witnesses of a crime. That’s not how the American justice system is supposed to work.