Latest news with #TigardHighSchool
New York Post
05-06-2025
- 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
04-06-2025
- 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
Mint
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Oregon high school girls REFUSE to stand with trans athlete on podium — Martina Navratilova reacts
Two Oregon high school athletes made headlines over the weekend after refusing to share the winners' podium with a transgender competitor at the girls' high jump state championships. Reese Eckard (Sherwood High School) and Alexa Anderson (Tigard High School) stepped down from the podium after a transgender athlete placed fifth. Anderson had placed third, while Eckard took fourth. Tennis legend and outspoken advocate for women's sports, Martina Navratilova, responded strongly to the incident on X (formerly Twitter). "Women and girls are punished no matter what they do in this misogynistic world…" Navratilova wrote. She added, "Feminists never asked for this. At least not the great majority of us… never." Navratilova responded to the growing debate on X (formerly Twitter), emphasising that women are being unfairly targeted for protesting rules they didn't create. "Stop blaming women for this. Women do not make the rules," she replied to a social media user's post. "Majority of women are against it too. Women get punished no matter what they do." Addressing the consequences faced by athletes who refuse to compete under current regulations, Navratilova added: "Because not competing can get you banned from the sport. The rules must change, and those are made by men mostly." In a broader critique of gender dynamics in sport and society, Navratilova continued in another reply to a user's comment: "The world is misogynistic, the world is patriarchal, and most of the rules are made by men. And all of the danger comes from men." Navratilova has repeatedly criticised Democratic lawmakers for not acting to protect women's sports. Earlier this year, she condemned Democrats for blocking the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. "I hate that the Democrats totally failed women and girls on this very clear issue of women's sports being for females only," she said. Calling for stronger action, she urged: "Grow a spine." Navratilova referenced President Donald Trump's "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order, which was signed in February. She lamented that Democrats failed to support similar efforts. She questioned Democratic priorities, asking: "What are the Dems willing to give up for men who identify as trans? Abortion… the Constitution… rule of law… That's just for starters…" The incident and Navratilova's comments reignite an ongoing national debate around transgender participation in women's sports—a debate that continues to divide public figures, lawmakers, and athletic communities across the US.
Fox News
02-06-2025
- General
- Fox News
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova reacts as Oregon HS girls refuse to share podium with trans athlete
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova reacted to two Oregon high school athletes who refused to stand with a transgender athlete following the girls' high jump state championships on Saturday. Reese Eckard, of Sherwood High School, and Alexa Anderson, of Tigard High School, stepped down from the podium and refused to share the spot with the transgender athlete who finished in fifth place. Anderson finished in third and Eckard in fourth. Footage obtained by Fox News Digital showed an official confronting Eckard and Anderson. "Women and girls are punished no matter what they do in this misogynistic world…" Navratilova wrote on X. She added that "Feminists never asked for this. At least not the great majority of us… never." Navratilova has been a major voice in the effort to protect women's sports. She has been particularly critical of Democrats who have failed to step up to the plate, with their Republican colleagues, to help pass legislation to prohibit males from competing in girls' and women's sports. At the start of the year, Navratilova criticized Democratic lawmakers who killed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. The tennis legend called on Democrats to "grow a spine" in a post on social media. President Donald Trump signed the "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order in February, and Navratilova lamented that Democrats failed to do what the president did. "I hate that the Democrats totally failed women and girls on this very clear issue of women's sports being for females only," she wrote in a post on X. She then posed a question to Democrats as some states thumbed their nose at Trump's executive order. "What are the Dems willing to give up for men who identify as trans?" she asked on X. "Abortion… the Constitution… rule of law… That's just for starters…" Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
International Business Times
02-06-2025
- Politics
- International Business Times
Two Female Oregon High Jumpers Refuse to Share Podium with Trans Athlete as They Leave High School Track and Field Championship
Two female high jump athletes refused to stand on the podium alongside a transgender competitor at this weekend's high school state championships in Oregon. Reese Eckard from Sherwood High School and Alexa Anderson from Tigard High School have been widely praised on social media, with many calling them heroes, after they appeared to walk away from the medal ceremony in protest of the fifth-place athlete, who is reportedly transgender. Anderson finished third in the competition, while Eckard came in fourth. Video footage obtained by Fox News shows both athletes turning away from the audience instead of stepping onto the podium before an official escorted them away from the medal ceremony. Setting an Example "Two female athletes in Oregon refused to stand on the podium because a boy was awarded a place. Girls have had enough," conservative activist Riley Gaines wrote on X. "Girls have had enough." Anderson spoke to Fox News about her decision in an interview over the weekend. "We didn't refuse to stand on the podium out of hate,' she said. '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." Oregon is among several states challenging President Donald Trump's executive order titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," which warns of cutting off federal funding to states that do not comply. According to a recent AP-NORC poll, around 70 percent of U.S. adults believe that transgender women should not be allowed to compete in girls' or women's sports at the high school, college, or professional levels. That opinion is held by nearly 90 percent of Republicans and about 50 percent of Democrats. The athletic federation announced a policy change following Trump's warning that California could lose federal funding unless it bans transgender female athletes from girls' teams. However, the federation claimed that its decision was made prior to the federal threat. Going Against Trump's Orders The U.S. Department of Justice also announced it would launch an investigation into the athletic federation and the school district that oversees Hernandez's high school to determine whether they violated federal laws prohibiting sex-based discrimination. In California, state law allows transgender students to join sports teams that align with their gender identity, even if the teams are separated by sex. While data on transgender athletes participating in female sports is limited, NCAA President Charlie Baker testified in December that fewer than 10 transgender athletes are currently competing out of the roughly 500,000 collegiate student-athletes nationwide. Both the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association have affirmed that gender exists on a spectrum rather than being strictly male or female—a stance that contradicts the position taken by the White House in its January 20 executive order aimed at "defending women from gender ideology."
