Republican lawmakers blast policy allowing transgender female athletes to compete as girls

UPDATED at 6:04 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, 2025 with the response from the Oregon School Activities Association.

All 12 women Republican lawmakers in the state Legislature are calling on the head of the Oregon School Activities Association to change its policy allowing transgender girls to compete as females in school sports.

The 2016 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. 

“Rules such as this one (promote) harmony and fair competition among member schools by maintaining equality of eligibility and (increasing) the number of students who will have an opportunity to participate in interscholastic activities,” the handbook says. It added that the policy promotes “harmony and fair competition among member schools by maintaining equality of eligibility and (increases) the number of students who will have an opportunity to participate in interscholastic activities.”

But the Republican lawmakers disagreed, and wrote to Peter Weber, the executive director of the association, saying that any records or wins by transgender girl athletes were not wins at all. 

The letter was signed by Sens. Kim Thatcher of Keizer and Suzanne Weber of Tillamook and Reps. Christine Goodwin  of Canyonville, Anna Scharf of Amity, Bobby Levy of Echo, Emily McIntire of Eagle Point, Kim Wallan of Medford, Lucetta Elmer of McMinnville, Jami Cate of Lebanon, Shelly Boshard David of Albany, Tracy Cramer of Gervais and Vikki Breese-Iverson of Prineville.

Their letter was prompted by a high school competition on Saturday. A transgender 10th-grade student at Portland’s McDaniel High School, competed in the girls varsity division at the Need for Speed Classic in Sherwood. According to the sports website Athletic.net, she placed second in the women’s 200-meter dash – and currently is in fifth place overall – and second in the women’s 400 meter dash, a race where she’s currently ranked fourth. She also placed seventh with her team in the 4×100 replay and eighth in the 4×400 relay.

Her results were picked up by the conservative influencers on X, including “Libs of TikToc,” who posted a video of the 200-meter dash showing her charging past competitors, called the athlete a “cheater” and said her competitors had their “dream stolen from them.” 

The New York Post and Fox News reported on it, and other Republicans weighed in, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas who called her second place finish “disgraceful,” and Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman of Utah who said it was “BS” on X.

In Oregon, the 12 lawmakers asked Weber to “provide a solution to the families seeking answers about why the OSAA doesn’t feel girls’ sports should be a safe space for biological females to compete and succeed.”

Weber responded to the lawmakers on Thursday after consulting with his board. He defended the association’s policy, saying state law has long prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. He said in 2019, the Oregon Department of Education added “gender identity” to its rules on sexual orientation and noted the Legislature did the same.

“In response, just over five years ago, the OSAA worked with the Oregon Department of Education to create a policy that was consistent with these legal protections given to students related to their gender identity, to help our member schools be in compliance with all legal requirements,” he said.

Weber declined to answer other questions from the Capital Chronicle about the number of transgender female athletes in high school sports and their results. 

“The OSAA recognizes that this policy will need to be reviewed on a regular basis based on improved understanding of gender identity and expression, evolving law, and societal norms,” the handbook says.

The issue has come up before. For example, in January, a tennis coach at Canby High School resigned over transgender student athletes competing in girls sports.

The lawmakers encouraged parents and students to boycott any competitions that include transgender girls, and they said they plan to propose legislation next session to strip any transgender girls of their sports awards and records and give those to the female athletes who came next.

That legislation is not likely to go anywhere, however: The Legislature is controlled by Democrats and they widely support LGBTQ+ rights. Nevertheless, this past session, Goodwin of Canyonville introduced a bill with Republican Sen. David Brook-Smith of Port Orford to ban transgender girls from competing in female sports. The proposal, House Bill 4054, was sent to the House health care committee where it died without a hearing.

Democratic leaders in the Legislature told the Capital Chronicle in an email that the latest reaction to transgender athletes is “predictable, offensive and dangerous.”

“Oregon student athletes should not be worried about politicians using their names in any effort to politicize or police gender,” said Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber of Beaverton and House Majority Leader Ben Bowman of Tigard. “Sending a letter to a state agency is one thing but singling out an Oregon child to score political points crosses a line and risks harm to that student and their family.”

They added: “Legislative Democrats won’t play politics at the expense of the privacy, health and safety of our kids. We’re going to protect our kids by focusing on the issues that actually have an impact on their wellbeing – like housing affordability, homelessness, and the drug crisis.”