“When the horn sounded, signaling the start of a Tuesday afternoon 5k cross-country race, about half of the girls wearing Camas High School singlets hung back. A pack of runners separated from them within seconds. They didn’t follow.
“Instead, they walked off the start line, forfeiting their race in protest of their transgender teammate’s participation.
The protest, which involved approximately a dozen girls on the Camas High School cross-country team, came on the heels of mounting attention directed toward a transgender sophomore on the girls team.
“The student has been the subject of a flurry of social media posts made by people raising questions about competitive fairness and state policy involving transgender athletes. She competed in the boys category on Sept. 5 before switching to the girls team after the season was underway. The Seattle Times is not naming the student because she is a minor who has not given her consent to be identified.”
“Washington state has a longstanding policy that allows athletes to participate in the category consistent with their gender identity. A Camas School District spokesperson said that The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s rules had not been violated. The WIAA, the state’s governing body of interscholastic sports, said it had not received an eligibility challenge and confirmed that its gender identity policy does not prohibit an in-season switch.”
“Next month, Washington voters will weigh in on the future of transgender athletes in youth sports via I-638, an initiative sponsored by Let’s Go Washington. If passed, the ballot measure titled ‘Defending Equity in Interscholastic Sports Act’ would ban transgender girls from competing in K-12 sports and require that students submit medical documentation that verifies their ‘biological sex,’ according to the initiative’s language.”
“Tuesday’s walk-off wasn’t the first protest seen at a Camas meet this season. On Sept. 15, the first documented time that the athlete competed in the girl’s category, two athletes and a parent from the opposing team protested her participation.”
“The father of one of the Skyview athletes brought a sign to the race that referenced chromosomes, reading ‘Please only XX competing against XX, XY competing with XY, keep it fair.’ Joel Retzlaff told [conservative podcaster Brandi] Kruse in an interview that he was given a criminal trespass notice after holding up his sign and later chanting ‘keep boys out of girls sports’ after he was told to put the sign away.
“The Camas School District confirmed that a criminal trespass notice was issued, writing that Retzlaff was asked to leave school property because of “disruptive behavior.” After leaving, he got into his car and drove through a taped-off area, nearly hitting a security staff member, according to the school district.”