Half the members of a high school girls’ cross-country team in Washington state walked off the field earlier this month rather than run with their transgender teammate.
The protest took place amid debate over a proposed trans sports ban in the state and followed weeks of media attention on the team.
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It’s unclear exactly when the trans runner, a junior at Camas High School in Southwest Washington, came out as trans or whether she is receiving gender-affirming care. But according to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), she joined the school’s girls’ junior varsity cross country team in September after starting the school year competing on the boys’ team.
On October 3, HeCheated.org, which maintains a database of transgender women and girls competing in women’s and girls’ sports, posted the trans minor’s name in an X post along with stats from her last race with the boys’ team on September 5, in which she placed 76th, and her first race on the girls’ team on September 26, in which she placed second. According to OPB, she also placed first in the 5,000-meter race at a September 29 meet.
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Anti-trans activists and influencers, including Brandi Kruse and Beth Bourne, picked up the story, with some posting videos that clearly show the trans minor’s face alongside her name. Notably, Google’s AI Overview of the incident also includes the minor’s name.
Amid media coverage and “social media discussions,” the Camas School District released an October 8 statement clarifying that as a public school and member of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), it must adhere to the WIAA’s trans-inclusive policies and state law prohibiting discrimination in public schools based on gender identity and gender expression.
The following Tuesday, during an October 13 match against Battle Ground High School, 12 of the Camas girls’ team’s 24 runners walked off the field at the start of a race in protest against their trans teammate. Video of the moment captured by a local anti-trans activist has been shared on social media, with Kruse and fellow anti-trans activists Riley Gaines and Sophie Cunningham praising the girls. According to local paper The Columbian, a meet scheduled for October 14 that included the Camas High girls’ team had to be relocated due to security concerns.
Former high school cross-country coach John Gallagher suggested the protest likely had a lot to do with the anti-trans sports ban that’s on the ballot in Washington state. “To me, this is a matter of some of the adults in the situation stepping in, overstepping, and in telling these student athletes what they need to do in order to make a statement,” he told OPB.
Ballot Initiative 683 would require middle and high school student athletes to prove their biological sex via a visual genital exam, a lab test to determine their genetic makeup, or an analysis of testosterone levels to participate in school sports. Troublingly, public radio station KUOW reports that in most cases, a genital exam would likely be the most accessible way for students to have their sex verified.
In an interview with KIRO, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal noted that members of the Camas girls’ cross-country team have the right to protest trans inclusion in girls’ sports. But, he said, “The much larger issue here is: can we accommodate 10, 12, 15 [trans] kids a year, and make them feel included? Or do we have to go through an initiative process where every single girl has to prove through one of three methods that she is a girl in order to participate?”
According to OPB, recent polling indicates that Initiative 683 has a good chance of passing in November.
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