A Seattle high school student and her parents have slammed the state’s athletic association for allowing a transgender athlete to ‘take a girl’s spot’.
The freshman and her parents, who approached DailyMail.com, said she and her teammates feel ‘unsettled’ and ‘cheated’ by the inclusion of the athlete, who has been competing in a girls’ cross-country team since last year. The 15-year-old first raced the trans athlete over the summer. DailyMail.com has chosen not to identify the teenagers.
The female athlete said she was shocked to see the student racing against biological girls, and said that her team was not informed ahead of time by the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA).
‘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 DailyMail.com. ‘It’s just sort of unsettling running next to him for most of the race… he’s making fun of us.’
When parents staged a protest during a meet last month, holding signs and wearing shirts with slogans demanding fairness in sports, the school holding the meet called the police and threatened them with arrest, as seen on video shared with DailyMail.com.
Parents were threatened with arrest after protesting one of the meets where the transgender athlete participated
When the protesters ask who is not welcome, the school officer replies: ‘Everybody with a sign’
The footage shows a school official telling an officer from Island County Sheriff’s department that the protesters are not welcome at the school.
When the protesters ask who is not welcome, the school officer replies: ‘Everybody with a sign.’
After the first encounter with the trans athlete, the girl’s teammates and their parents wanted to protest, but they were concerned they would face retaliation from WIAA and face suspension.
Over the season, the trans athlete continued placing and the freshman runner claims her team, which will compete on Saturday’s final, would have done much better if the trans runner’s impressive times did not help their team over the line.
‘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 DailyMail.com.
‘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. People tell us that if we aren’t nice to them, and if we don’t go along with it, they might hurt themselves.’
Last month, the trans runner and her team qualified for the Washington state championship – Her time at the meet helped the team get the numbers they needed to get to the state championship.
Despite warnings, the girls team did stage a protest on September 26 at a league meet. In a show of unity, the team decided to protest by running together in a block at the pace of their slowest runner.
A source told DailyMail.com their bravery during the protest was what inspired Virginia’s Roanoke College women’s swim team to speak out in a press conference days later about being forced to compete against a transgender woman.
The freshman says she and her teammates do not have an issue with with the trans athlete’s identity – they just don’t want to compete against her.
‘I’m one of the only ones that can beat the boys and this isn’t about the girl’s complaining about losing. Why do the boy’s feelings matter more than everyone else’s?’ the girl wondered.
The Roanoke College Women’s Swim Team held a press conference to speak out about being forced to swim with a transgender woman. They were inspired by the King’s High School
‘He can be whatever he wants to be, but does he have to take from girls to feel better?’ she said. ‘I wish the people in charge would defend girls so we don’t have to worry about this. Every boy out there is taking a spot from a girl, that’s not right. It seems like basic sportsmanship isn’t being considered.’
The state championship took place on Saturday, and the girl’s team was left off the podium, placing fourth. The trans’ athlete helped their team reach second place – without their score, the team would have placed fourth.
The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) told DailyMail.com the girls at the Seattle high school don’t blame the trans athlete, but WIAA and other sports organizations that are supposed to make sports fair.
‘There have been several schools that have been privately and publicly expressing concern for their girls,’ ICONS said in a statement. ‘The blame lies on WIAA. They are using Aspen as a shield for public outrage while discriminating against every girl. These are kids being victimized by the cowardice of adult leadership at the WIAA.’
The trans runner made headlines last year for breaking the record in the girl’s 5000-meter category. In 2021, they were part of the school’s boys’ team and finished in 72nd place in the cross-country championship. Critics have pointed out she would have ranked 48th if competing against boys when she broke the women’s record in 2022.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) for comment.
Kate Pearson (left), Lily Mullens (center) and Bailey Gallagher (right) told DailyMail.com they are speaking out to try and push all colleges and universities to come up with comprehensive plans for dealing with trans athletes – arguing that it was unfair to place the weight of decisions and actions on their shoulders
Despite widespread fear about speaking up against trans athletes in sports, female athletes have began organizing to fight against what they say is discriminations against women.
The high school girls inspired the Roanoke College Women’s Swim Team to publicly say they feel abandoned by their university and national officials after a former member of the men’s team joined their squad last month.
In an event held with activist Riley Gaines and ICONS, the team demanded the NCAA and US Swimming stop allowing transgender women to compete in female sports.
The case bears strong echoes to that of Lia Thomas, who last year became the first trans athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship.
‘I started swimming competitively when I was seven years old,’ junior Susanna Price told the crowd. ‘This year has been the first year of my life where swimming has been emotionally draining. Knowing that biological men are allowed to compete in sports has been the most disheartening experience of my life.’
Sophomore Carter Satterfield said: ‘We are calling on the NCAA to protect female athletes and grant us fair sports – in every sport. We are calling on US Swimming to recognize that girls at every level deserve to know they are valuable enough to be given a fair race.’
‘I started swimming competitively when I was seven years old,’ junior Susanna Price told the crowd. ‘This year has been the first year of my life where swimming has been emotionally draining. Knowing that biological men are allowed to compete in sports has been the most disheartening experience of my life.’
Sophomore Carter Satterfield said: ‘We are calling on the NCAA to protect female athletes and grant us fair sports – in every sport. We are calling on US Swimming to recognize that girls at every level deserve to know they are valuable enough to be given a fair race.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
