Court victory for two Oregon teens after protesting trans athlete in women's competitions

Teenage girls from Oregon, Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard, won a preliminary victory in their lawsuit against the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA). 

The young women, who stepped off the medal podium in May during a track and field ceremony to protest the presence of a transgender athlete, argue that the OSAA violated their First Amendment-protected rights by excluding them from official photos and withholding their medals.

What happened

The incident occurred on May 31 at the Oregon State Track and Field Championships, where Anderson and Eckard, from Tigard and Sherwood high schools, respectively, took third and fourth place in the women's high jump.

Both decided not to share the podium with a transgender competitor who tied for fifth place, an act of silent protest that went viral on social media. According to the lawsuit, OSAA officials forced them away from the podium to prevent them from appearing in official photographs and denied them their rightfully earned medals, according to Fox News.

The lawsuit, filed by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), alleges that this retaliation constitutes a direct violation of free speech. A key point is the OSAA's alleged inconsistency: while allowing and promoting protest messages such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ pride at sporting events, it punished Anderson and Eckard for expressing an opposing view on fairness in women's sports.

The court decision

In her decision, U.S. District Court Judge Youlee Yim You denied the OSAA's motion to strike a critical portion of the lawsuit filed by the Anderson and Eckard teens.

The ruling forces the league to defend in court what types of political speech it tolerates, which could expose patterns of selective discrimination in its policies.

In a statement provided to Fox News, Anderson sharply criticized OSAA for trying to minimize its history of permissiveness with other messages. "I'm not surprised OSAA thought their past behavior didn't matter—or that the judge disagreed. That's the thing with bias: the worst offenders are the ones who can't see their own behavior for what it is," the young athlete stated.

AFPI, which represents the plaintiffs, hailed the ruling as a significant advance for constitutional rights. "This may seem like a small procedural win, but it’s actually a big one. Every time a judge refuses to let government officials or institutions silence women for speaking the truth, it’s a victory for the First Amendment and for common sense," they said in a statement to the media outlet.

They further added, "When the OSAA proudly celebrates causes like BLM and Pride Month but then punishes our plaintiffs for expressing a different, equally protected belief, it exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of their actions. The Constitution doesn’t let government officials pick which viewpoints are acceptable. And today’s ruling reaffirmed that truth." 

Anderson also reflected on the long-term impact of their fight. "I think fighting for the rights of women’s sports to have a safe and fair environment is going to be a fight we’re going to be a part of for years—maybe even our lifetime. And it’s so incredibly worth it if we can help all these girls to have a safe and fair environment,” she said.