To play or not to play? That is the question many transgender athletes are facing in the U.S. these days. There have been several cases of transgender athletes at colleges and high schools not being allowed to participate, or being booed or ostracized, if they do.
The latest incident happened in the Pacific Northwest, in Oregon, at the state’s high school track and field championships.
The podium featured the top seven winners, but the third and fourth place winners said they wanted to make a statement against the fifth place winner, who is trans, and refused to take their places.
Third and fourth place winners chose not to stand alongside the fifth place trans athlete
Image credits: America First Policy Institute
Reese Eckard of Sherwood High School and Alexa Anderson of Tigard High School decided to put their collective foot down during the awards ceremony over the weekend.
They were protesting the fifth place winner, which was actually a tie between two people, a cisgender woman (people who identify with the female s*x they were assigned at birth), and a transgender woman (people who do not identify with the s*x they were assigned at birth and who have changed it, or are in the process of doing so).
In a video of the moment on Fox News, Eckard, the fourth-place finisher, and Anderson, who was third, were seen stepping off the podium, their backs to the crowd. Eventually, an official came to ask them to step away from the podium altogether.
“Not out of hate”: female athletes say they’re taking a stand against trans athletes
According to Fox News Digital, the trans athlete previously competed in the boys’ category in 2023 and 2024.
The cisgender athletes said their action was not meant to shame the trans athlete, but rather to “protect” girls’ sports.
Two brave Oregon teenage girls stand aside the podium during the awards ceremony for the Girls High Jump at the annual Oregon High School State Finals, in protest of Zachary “Liaa” Rose – a MALE- competing (CHEATING) in the FEMALE category. pic.twitter.com/52QkJqXNZ2
— Jen @oregonfeminist (@OregonFeminist) June 1, 2025
In a written statement, Anderson said: “We didn’t refuse to stand on the podium out of hate. We did it because someone has to say this isn’t right. In order to protect the integrity and fairness of girls’ sports we must stand up for what is right.”
“Y’all hate it cause your daddy told you to”: some netizens call out the ‘protest’
While reactions online have been mixed, some are calling out Anderson and Eckard’s statement as hypocritical.
One person said sarcastically they “Would love to see these same girls marching in Pride parades this month, shouting to the rooftops on social media in support of trans peoples’ rights in all areas except sports. To show this is NOT about hate but fairness.”
“This is such a non issue. Y’all hate it because your daddy told you to hate it,” another said.
U.S. government cracks down on organizations that allow trans women to compete
Trans athletes have become a hot political issue in the United States in recent years, and the rules about their participation have been in constant flux.
In February of this year, the NCAA, National Collegiate Athletic Association, released a revised set of rules regarding trans athletes. The statement says, in part, that for NCAA men’s sports: “Regardless of s*x assigned at birth or gender identity, a student-athlete may participate (practice and competition) in NCAA men’s sports, assuming they meet all other NCAA eligibility requirements.”
The rules for NCAA women’s sports, however, say that: “A student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete for an NCAA women’s team.”
Oregon’s girls’ high jump state championships, two brave female athletes refused to share the podium with a male competitor. An official punished them for standing up. This nonsense must stop. Protect our girls! #SaveWomensSports @A1Policy pic.twitter.com/pAyTTuov3o
— Jessica Hart Steinmann (@jessica4TX) June 1, 2025
Netizens’ comments at the time were critical of the new rules.
“It is so egregious. This regime is so wrong,” one person said.
“Athletes do need to be protected – from those who want to take advantage of their positions of power to exploit or abuse athletes, but NOT from trans athletes. Can the NCAA and all please focus on what really matters and let all athletes play,” said another.
From Maine, to Illinois, to California, trans women athletes have been caught in the spotlight
Opponents of allowing trans women to compete against cis women argue that men’s and women’s bodies are fundamentally different, and that no matter how an athlete identifies on the outside, if they were assigned male at birth, their body is still that of a man.
Proponents, meanwhile, say that forbidding trans women to compete is extremely unfair, non-inclusive, and traumatic for trans people who are suffering in ways that cis people struggle to understand.
The issue has set off similar protests by other cis female athletes this year. Last month, in another track and field competition, this time in California, a cisgender female who came in second to a trans woman athlete stepped onto the first place position after the trans athlete left. Her quick action was captured on social media.
And in April, during a women’s fencing competition in Maryland, a cis woman athlete knelt in protest against a trans woman opponent, with the cis athlete ultimately punished for her actions.
A poll by NBC News Stay Tuned conducted in April of this year shows the public is still struggling to accept trans athletes. According to the survey, 25% of respondents say they did support trans women participating in female sports, while 75 percent said they did not.
Organizations that offer information and guidance for trans athletes have been unwavering in their support
High school track star Reese Hogan takes her rightful spot in first place after “finishing second” to a deluded male competitor.
We need more female athletes taking a stand like this!pic.twitter.com/geJLyLrm3e
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) May 19, 2025
🤺🚨Historic Protest: Female Fencer Takes a Knee in Bout Against Male Opponent, Faces Immediate Disqualification
After receiving a black card for refusing to compete against a man, Redmond Sullivan’s female opponent was expelled from the @USAFencing event at the Univ. of… pic.twitter.com/IloSnrb2Iu
— ICONS (@icons_women) April 2, 2025
Advocates for Trans Equality, founded in 2024 says that “policies that fully include trans women and girls on sports teams with other women and girls harm no one. In fact, policing young people’s bodies is bad for everyone. No young person should be scrutinized, judged, or excluded for their body shape, size, or gender expression.”
Other groups have similar statements on their websites. AthleteAlley, whose mission is “to help every athlete act as an ally and ensure every LGBTQIA+ person is welcome and safe in sports”, says that according to current biomedical research, “The majority of sport policies are not evidence-based and have participation requirements that are arbitrary and/or not clearly linked to performance.”
“They stepped on another student’s right”: people defended the transgender athlete
