At least 12 high school girls chose to forfeit a cross-country race in Washington on Tuesday rather than compete against their teammate — a boy.
About half of the Camas High School girls’ cross-country team walked off the course Tuesday instead of racing against an 11th grade boy who, until September 5, competed with the boys.
In his last race with the junior varsity boys, the male athlete placed 76th. On September 15, in his first race with Camas High’s varsity girls, he placed seventh.
On Tuesday, he placed second.
This latest injustice in Washington interscholastic sports illustrates the continued cowardice of teachers, administrators and coaches, none of whom have come out in support of these defenseless girls.
At best, they fear for their jobs. At worst, they, too, believe hundreds of female athletes should sacrifice their athletic success and comfort so a boy can feel good about himself.
The girls, the children, do the hard thing, instead. They willingly sacrifice their opportunities. They face down the idealogues and bullies, because adults won’t do it for them.
When their parents try to protect and support them, Camas School District and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) play hardball.
Skyview High School students Sierra and Charlie, both just 16 years old, chose not to race against the male athlete on September 15. The duo walked off the course at the sound of the starting gun, their arms and legs painted with, “Keep women in women’s sports,” their cheeks painted with “XX” and “XY.”
Sierra’s parents stood in support at the starting line, holding signs that read, “It will never be ok for an XY to steal an opportunity from an XX,” and, “Please only XX competing with XX [and] XY competing with XY — keep it fair.”
An official told them to leave the area within twenty seconds, Sierra’s dad, Joel, told Undivided podcast host Brandi Kruse in an interview.
“I looked at the fellow and asked why I needed to leave,” Joel contisued. “He said it was against the WIAA rules to have any signage other than a school flag.”
WIAA, consistent with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, also requires students play sports and use changing rooms according to their “gender identity,” rather than their biological sex.
Joel avoided being kicked out by putting down his sign. He stayed long enough to watch the girls exit the course. But he wasn’t finished — not by a long shot. He told Kruse:
“Again, that was not our intention,” Joel clarified. “Our intention was just to peacefully hold the sign, but we weren’t allowed to do that. So we decided to get the word out our way.”
Camas School District responded by criminally trespassing the father from district property for the rest of the year.
Joel is a local soccer coach. He is still unsure whether he can coach his team at a Camas facility.
Holly Burns is one of the twelve Camas High students who sacrificed her race Tuesday to protest competing against a boy. Her parents, Sarah and Kevin Burns, came to support the girls with signs. They, too, faced opposition.
“[Security] said that we’re not allowed to hold up signs at this event today,” Kevin told Outkick reporter Jackson Thompson. “I questioned them if that was constitutionally legal, if we could express ourselves by just holding a sign.”
“In the end, it didn’t seem like they really had a grasp on what they could tell us to do or not.”
Eventually, says Kevin, he and Sarah managed to hold their signs — but security dogged their every step, telling them to leave. The couple refused.
These families’ experiences illustrate how much influence the public school system wields, not just over students, but the adults that are supposed to protect them.
How egregious that the only recourse left to these families is for the girls — the children — to show more bravery than the school officials around them.
What a world.
Happily, Washington voters can change girls’ bleak reality at the ballot box this November. Initiative 638, “Protect Fairness in Girls Sports,” would prevent males from competing in girls sports.
A “yes” vote on Initiative 638 would protect girls like Sierra, Charlie and Holly from having to race against — and change next to — a male athlete. A “no” vote would allow boys to continue competing in girls sports categories on a whim.
Initiative 638 could protect the dignity and safety of hundreds of female athletes to come. But change may not come fast enough for cross-country athletes like those at Camas High School.
Initiative 638, if approved, would take effect thirty days after election day on November 3.
The Washington state cross-country championships will take place on November 7.
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