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Oregon is currently dealing with its second lawsuit in a month regarding the participation of biologically male transgender athletes in girls’ high school sports.
Two track and field stars from Oregon, Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard, filed a lawsuit against the Oregon School Athletics Association (OSAA) after an incident on May 31 where they refused to share a medal podium with a transgender competitor at a state title meet.
Video of the incident gained widespread attention, as Anderson revealed that officials directed them to step away from the podium and out of the photos.
The lawsuit claims that the OSAA not only excluded them from official photos but also withheld their medals, arguing that the girls’ First Amendment rights were violated by the officials.
“I recently competed against a biological male at my state track and field meet, another girl and I decided to step down from the podium in protest to the unfair competition environment,” Anderson told Fox News Digital. “I am fighting to keep women’s sports XX and prevent biological males in women’s sports from becoming normalized. By doing this, I hope that all future generations of female athletes will have a safe and fair opportunity to excel within their sports.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the OSAA for a response.
The girls are being represented by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI).
“These young women earned their place on the podium – and the right to express themselves,” said Jessica Hart Steinmann, executive general counsel at AFPI. “Instead of respecting their viewpoint that girls’ sports should be for girls only, Oregon officials sidelined them. The First Amendment protects the right to dissent – school officials don’t get to reprimand students who refuse to agree with their beliefs.”
AFPI is also representing fellow Oregon girls’ track and field athletes Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter in a separate lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Education for its policies allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports.
Carpenter and Eischen cited their experience in withdrawing from a meet that featured a transgender competitor on April 18.
Both athletes described the experience as “traumatic.”
Carpenter added, “It was emotionally traumatic trying to know what I should do and how I should respond to competing with [the trans athlete].”
Carpenter said she found herself so overwhelmed with emotion from the experience, that she cried on the ride home after the meet. Despite facing fear of potential retaliation for filing a lawsuit, the two girls are determined to move forward with their legal battle, which could attract national attention.
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