A teen girl has spoken out against her school district’s decision to allow boys to join the girls’ cross-country team in Seattle. Meanwhile, parents protesting the transgender athletes have been threatened with arrest.
The freshman and her parents contacted the Daily Mail to voice their frustration that male-born “transgender girls” have been allowed to participate as girls in the school’s cross-country events.
The girl and her parents — whom the paper has refused to name to preserve their safety — say they feel “unsettled” and “cheated” by the trans girls they are forced to compete against.
The girl says she was forced to compete against a trans athlete and that she and her team were not told that they would have to race against a boy claiming to be a trans girl.
Another awkward Girls XC race last weekend here in Seattle.
Another biological boy runner was the difference between a girls team getting first or second.
There was a lot of murmuring when he stood on the podium to accept the girls team trophy.
Why are girls being forced to go… pic.twitter.com/RTyzqlN8M4— Russell Belden (@russellbelden) September 28, 2023
“I realized that in front of me was a boy. He was running in our race. I kept wondering, why are all the adults going along with this? Why don’t the people in charge of girls’ sports know what a girl is anymore? I felt tricked,’ she told Mail. ‘It’s just sort of unsettling running next to him for most of the race… he’s making fun of us.”
When parents gathered to mount a protest at a school track meet, they were met with members of the Island County Sheriff’s Office who threatened to arrest them for protesting.
📢 Exclusive: Teenage girl bravely speaks out about unfair races. “I realized that in front of me was a boy running in our race. I kept wondering, why are all the adults going along with this? I felt tricked… he’s making fun of us.”https://t.co/uHPclBeDKP
— ICONS (@icons_women) November 8, 2023
The girl adds that the boy running for an opposing team amassed extremely fast times, knocking her team down in the rankings and taking away titles they otherwise would have won.
“If it wasn’t for boys running with girls, our team would have won three team trophies. We also would have won League and Districts,” the girl told the paper.
“It’s been a constant source of stress for us. We’re being told to just go along with it, but we know he’s a boy, and it isn’t fair. Everyone’s afraid of hurting the boys’ feelings, but they don’t have to care about ours,” she said. “People tell us that if we aren’t nice to them, and if we don’t go along with it, they might hurt themselves.”
“Why do the boy’s feelings matter more than everyone else’s?” the girl asked.
Despite being warned by the school not to speak out against trans athletes, the team did mount a protest during a meet on September 26, the paper noted.
There have been two trans girls participating in cross country in Washington state over the last two years. One was Aspen Hoffman, who repeatedly placed in races starting in 2022. Both male-born trans athletes helped their schools edge ahead of the competition.
Transgender boy wins 4th place during a girls running competition in Seattle.
Aspen Hoffman, born male, placed 4th in the Women’s 5,000 meter race.
After the competition, where he helped his team win due to his biological advantage, he held his teams trophy all to himself-… pic.twitter.com/W7tp2tstGA
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) October 25, 2023
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