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New York Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Runner who stepped off podium with trans athlete speaks out
High-school track star Alexa Anderson decided to step down — off the championship podium — for what she believes, when faced with the prospect of sharing the honor with a transgender competitor. 'I knew that something needs to be done to bring attention to this issue and to let the people who are in charge know that us athletes are not okay with the position they put us in,' the 18-year-old told The Post. On Saturday, Anderson, a senior competing for Tigard High School, took third place in the Oregon State Athletic Association's Girls High Jump Final while Lia Rose, a transgender athlete from Ida B. Wells High School took fifth. Anderson jumped 5 feet 4.25 inches, compared to Rose's 5 feet 1.65 inches. Advertisement 5 Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard stepped down off the podium in protest on Saturday. America First Policy Institute When the top eight jumpers took the podium, Anderson and fourth-place runner Reese Eckard, a senior from Sherwood High School, stepped down in unison and turned their backs in protest. 'I was definitely stressed just with all those eyes on you, kind of looking at you wondering what you're doing and why,' Anderson said. 'But all female athletes, no matter if they are in elementary school, middle school or high school … I want them to have a fair and equal opportunity to compete.' Advertisement Going into the meet, Anderson knew that she wouldn't stand on the podium if Rose, who had competed in the boy's division in 2023 and 2024, placed. She and Eckart, who had been a 'friendly competitor' for the past four years, had already made a pact to step down together. 5 Alexa Anderson has been running track since she was a freshman in high school. Alexa Anderson/ Instagram She claims several other girls who made the podium had also intended to join, but backed down in the moment: 'It's a very controversial topic, and I think some people are more inclined to express their concerns privately.' The crowd at Hayward Field reacted with silence, and an official confronted the pair. When they said they weren't participating, the official told them to step aside and get out of the way of photos. Advertisement Even though she and Eckart were the only ones to take a public stand, she says Rose's presence in the sport had caused upset among her teammates throughout the season. 5 Anderson says several other girls on the podium planned to step down but ultimately backed down from the plan. Fox News 'The overall sentiment was kind of confused and concerned for the integrity of our sport,' she explained. 'Girls I talked to were worried that their opportunities were going to be taken away, or that they wouldn't make it to the championship because there was a biological man that was jumping better than them.' Since the incident, there's been an outpouring of private support, and Anderson reports receiving 'a lot of kind messages from people thanking me for standing up for what I believe in.' There have also been people who were less than kind. Advertisement 'Some people are definitely coming at me with a hateful attitude,' she admitted. 'There are people at school that are offended and are talking behind my back, but I expected that going into this, when I put myself out there on such a controversial topic.' 5 Anderson is committed to run track and field at the University of South Alabama next school year. Alexa Anderson/ Instagram Anderson, who joined the track team as a freshman, is graduating Thursday and plans to attend the University of South Alabama, where she will study exercise science and marine biology and is committed to run track and field. She said she supports a federal mandate banning trans athletes from female sports. President Trump enacted one in February via Title IX, but states including Oregon have continued to allow athletes to compete nonetheless. 'Title IX was originally used to ban sex-based discrimination in sports, and now we're facing sex-based discrimination again,' Anderson said. 'Biological women are being forced to compete with biological men, but the purpose of Title IX was to make sure that it didn't happen, that biological women had their equal opportunities.' 5 President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning trans athletes from women's sports in February. AP Anderson is legally represented by American First Policy Institute. A staff member told The Post they called on the federal government to investigate possible Title IX violations related to Saturday's race and are considering further litigation. 'I have been an athlete my whole life, and women's sports has done so much for me personally,' she said. 'By allowing biological men to compete in the women's division, we're taking away opportunities from other young girls who have worked so hard to get to where they are.'
New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Oregon track star wages legal battle against trans athlete policy after medal ceremony protest
An Oregon high school track star is speaking out after refusing to stand on the podium with a transgender athlete, saying her protest was about fairness – not hate. 'I just didn't think that it's fair to biological females to allow and encourage biological males to compete among us, not only for myself and the other girl that stepped down, but the girl who should have been on the podium and the girl who didn't even get to go to state because she was beaten by a biological male at districts,' athlete Alexa Anderson said on 'Fox & Friends.' Advertisement 'It is not about hate or transphobia at all. It's about protecting women's rights and their right to fair and equal competition within sports.' Anderson and another athlete named Reese Eckard, who finished in third and fourth place in the Oregon State Athletic Association's Girls High Jump finale, respectively, stood behind the podium during the ceremony because they refused to stand next to the transgender student, Liaa Rose, who placed fifth, according to the New York Post. An official behind the event allegedly told those protesting to 'step aside' and 'get out' of the photos. 3 Reese Eckard and Alexa Anderson protest the girls' high jump medal ceremony at the Oregon State high school championships at Hayward Field on May 31, 2025. America First Policy Institute Advertisement 3 Alexa Anderson speaks out on her legal battle during a recent interview with 'Fox and Friends.' 'I was very shocked and kind of stressed with all the eyes and attention on us, so I complied with what he said, but I am a little bit frustrated that people were angry with us rather than supportive of our movement,' Anderson continued. During the 'Fox & Friends' appearance, Anderson's attorney Jessica Steinmann spelled out the legal action currently in motion, sharing that America First Policy Institute filed a complaint with the US Department of Education to request that they investigate the Oregon Department of Education. 'The law that was meant to protect our girls, Title IX, is now being weaponized against them. On top of that, they are now being sidelined and there's clear First Amendment issues as well,' she shared. Advertisement 3 Eckard and Anderson refused to share the podium with transgender athlete Liaa Rose who tied for fifth in the event. @LaLONeill/X Steinmann said female athletes today are losing medal access, scholarships and economic opportunities to biological males allegedly stealing their thunder. The incident came on the heels of a controversy in neighboring California, where trans athlete AB Hernandez won two state titles against female competitors.
New York Post
4 days ago
- General
- New York Post
Oregon track star who refused to share podium with trans athlete reveals alleged conversation with officials after protest
An Oregon high school track and field star who refused to share a podium with a transgender athlete during the girls' high jump medal ceremony alleged officials told her to move away from the ceremony if she wasn't going to participate. Tigard High School's Alexa Anderson went viral when she protested the conclusion of the Oregon State Athletic Association's Girls High Jump finale at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on May 31. Anderson and Sherwood High School's Reese Eckard, who finished in third and fourth place, stood behind the ascending podium in the infield during the ceremony because they refused to stand next to Ida B. Wells High School transgender student Liaa Rose, who placed fifth. Advertisement 4 Tigard High School's Alexa Anderson went viral when she protested the conclusion of the Oregon State Athletic Association's Girls High Jump finale at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on May 31. @LaLONeill/X 'We stepped off the podium in protest and, as you can see, the official kind of told us 'hey, go over there, if you're not going to participate, get out of the photos,'' she told Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle.' Anderson, a University of South Alabama commit, alleged that the area where they were told to stand was out of the view of the photographers. Advertisement 'They asked us to move away from the medal stand, so when they took the photos, we weren't even in it at all,' she told the outlet. Anderson and Eckard had synchronously stepped off their respective platforms and turned their backs to the podium as the names of the top eight finishers were announced. An official spotted them and pointed them away from the podium, frustrating Anderson. 4 Alexa Anderson, a University of South Alabama commit, alleged that the area where they were told to stand was out of the view of the photographers. Fox News Advertisement 4 A meet officials tells Eckard and Anderson to move away from the platform during the pictures. @LaLONeill/X Rose jumped 5 feet and 1.65 inches in the competition, behind Eckard's 5 feet 3 inches and Anderson's 5 feet 4.25 inches. Anderson and Eckard, both seniors, felt it was unfair for them to compete against a transgender opponent who competed in the boys division in 2023 and 2024. Advertisement 'It's unfair because biological males and biological females compete at such different levels that letting a biological male into our competition is taking up space and opportunities from all these hardworking women, the girl in ninth who should have came in eighth and had that podium spot taken away from her, as well as many others,' Anderson said. Anderson said it was the first time she publicly protested a transgender athlete but had always supported other females who took a stand against the controversial policy in high school sports. 'This is the first public stand that I have taken in this issue, but I have privately supported all the girls that have done with positive messages, commenting on posts, just supporting them and letting them know I'm behind them in any way,' Anderson said. At the same time as Anderson's protest, transgender athlete Verónica Garcia won the state Class 2A 400-meter dash in nearby Washington. Garcia won the race by over a second and called out the critics for the dominating win against biological females. 'I'll be honest, I kind of expect it,' Garcia told the outlet. 'But it maybe didn't have their intended effect. It made me angry, but not angry as in, I wanted to give up, but angry as in, I'm going to push,' Garcia said after the race. 4 Anderson and Eckard, both seniors, felt it was unfair for them to compete against a transgender opponent who competed in the boys division in 2023 and 2024. @LaLONeill/X Advertisement The 17-year-old senior from East Valley High School had made Washington State last year by being the first transgender athlete to win a title. 'I'm going to put this in the most PG-13 way, I'm just going to say it's a damn shame they don't have anything else better to do. I hope they get a life. But oh well. It just shows who they are as people,' she added. With Post wires
