❓WHAT HAPPENED: Three teenage girls filed a lawsuit against the State of Oregon over policies allowing trans-identifying males to compete in female sports.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Plaintiffs Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter, an unnamed third plaintiff, Riley Gaines, Simone Biles, the Oregon Department of Education, the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), and Governor Tina Kotek (D).
📍WHEN & WHERE: The lawsuit follows an April track meet in Oregon and was filed with support from the America First Policy Institute.
💬KEY QUOTE: “This case is a landmark federal challenge to a statewide policy that permits males to compete in K–12 girls’ sports based on nothing more than self-proclaimed gender identity.” – America First Policy Institute
🎯IMPACT: The lawsuit challenges Oregon’s policy under Title IX, aiming to protect the integrity of women’s sports.
Three teenage girls have filed a lawsuit against the State of Oregon, challenging laws that permit biological males claiming to be transgender to compete against women and girls in sports. The incident that led to the lawsuit occurred in April at an Oregon track meet, where plaintiffs Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter refused to compete against a trans-identifying male athlete. A third plaintiff, a legal minor, is only identified as S.C. and is represented by her legal guardians, Randy and Tiffany Castaneda.
The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is representing the three girls, with court filings arguing that Oregon’s policy allowing biologically male athletes to compete against women and girls violates Title IX. “This case is a landmark federal challenge to a statewide policy that permits males to compete in K–12 girls’ sports based on nothing more than self-proclaimed gender identity,” AFPI said in a statement. “That policy, enforced by the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), violates the plain language of Title IX and undermines decades of progress for female students and athletes.”
Two of the plaintiffs, Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter, stated that they were inspired to act after witnessing a public dispute between pro-transgender former Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and pro-women conservative activist Riley Gaines. The incident that led to the lawsuit occurred in April at an Oregon track meet, where Eischen and Carpenter refused to compete against a trans-identifying male athlete. Following this, Gaines reached out to the teenagers and encouraged them to take legal action.
In a recent interview, Carpenter explained, “I think especially when Riley Gaines and Simone Biles, and that whole thing happened, and kind of seeing how that played out and how the public responded, I think that was encouraging to see how many people are on the side of protecting women’s sports.”
Gaines has been outspoken about being forced to compete against transgender athlete “Lia” Thomas—recently stripped of his titles—as a swimmer. Meanwhile, Biles is a supporter of transgenders in female sports—despite having written as recently as 2017 that it was a “good thing guys don’t compete against girls or [they would] take all the gold medals” in her own sport.
Oregon’s Department of Education, the OSAA, and Governor Tina Kotek (D) are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.
