Oregon High School Athletes File First Amendment Lawsuit Over Podium Protest

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) filed a lawsuit on July 23 on behalf of two Oregon high school athletes, alleging that the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) violated their First Amendment rights by punishing their peaceful protest of a boy competing in a girls’ high jump event.

Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard earned medals in the women’s high jump at the 2025 Oregon State high school track and field championships.

But when they quietly stepped off the podium rather than share it with a male competitor, OSAA officials swiftly removed them from the awards ceremony, excluded them from official photos, and withheld their medals.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the lawsuit argues that OSAA’s actions amount to unconstitutional ”viewpoint discrimination and retaliation,” violating the First and 14th amendments.

“OSAA has promoted political speech from one particular viewpoint, on social issues such as LGBT rights and gender identity, and encouraged student athletes to speak on these topics, as long as they express the viewpoint that OSAA approves,” AFPI Counsel Leigh Ann O’Neill told The Epoch Times.

“When Reese and Alexa publicly disagreed with the policy that allows biological males to compete in girls’ sports, OSAA retaliated against them for expressing their viewpoint.”

According to Alexa, a fear of potential retaliation kept other athletes from joining their protest.

“Most of the athletes on the podium agreed with us and had planned to step down,” she told The Epoch Times.

But under the spotlight, they changed their minds.

“Some girls said they were scared of standing up for fear of repercussions or retaliation from their teams or from OSAA.”

Their viewpoint and their form of nonverbal expression, protected by the First Amendment, were not given the same respect and rights given by OSAA to those who were supportive of OSAA’s transgender policies, O’Neill said.

“The First Amendment protects the right to dissent—not the right to agree with government-approved viewpoints,” O’Neill said.

“Oregon’s school athletics officials don’t get to pick and choose whose speech counts.”

Our right “to speak out on controversial topics is a fundamental right that we need to fight to protect,” Reese told The Epoch Times.

“We should never be silenced for standing for what we believe in.”

Alexa said that the girls she has talked to share her objection to competing against boys.

“Most female athletes understand the biological difference between men and women and agree that it’s not fair to allow men to compete in our sports,” she said.

Oregon Trans Athlete Policies Under Fire

OSAA has 60 days to respond to the First Amendment lawsuit; however, it has previously defended its policies on transgender athletes.

The policy, which allows students to compete in the category of their “consistently asserted gender identity,” aims to be inclusive, according to the association’s handbook.

In an April 2024 letter responding to Oregon legislators’ demands that boys be excluded from girls’ sports, OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber said that the policy complies with federal and state laws, including those against discrimination based on gender identity.

Weber noted that the organization is not allowed to discriminate against anybody based on sexual orientation or gender identity, per policy from the Oregon Department of Education.

AFPI is challenging OSAA policies in a separate lawsuit against OSAA and the Oregon Department of Education as well.

In July 2025, it filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of three Oregon high school athletes and their families, arguing that OSAA policies violate Title IX.

That suit seeks to ban male athletes from competing in girls’ sports, overturn records set by them, and prevent their future participation in girls’ competitions.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights confirmed in a July 22 letter that it has opened an investigation into the alleged sex-based discrimination related to that lawsuit.

OSAA’s policies were already being challenged in a lawsuit filed by the Liberty Justice Center.

In July 2024, it filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Lake Oswego School District on behalf of high school track and field coach Jack Parks, who proposed in a May 2024 letter that OSAA create an open division for transgender athletes.

In response to his letter, the suit claims that an OSAA official contacted the school district and accused Parks of discriminating against and harassing transgender athletes at track meets.

According to the lawsuit, Parks was fired on June 12, 2024, for violating the district’s harassment policy.

That case is still pending.