America First Policy Institute (AFPI) filed a federal lawsuit against the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) on Wednesday, standing up for two female athletes who were relegated to the sidelines when they silently protested being forced to share the medals podium with a male athlete.
Jessica Hart Steinmann, executive general counsel at AFPI, explained the lawsuit filed on behalf of Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard, who earned 3rd and 4th place medals in the high jump at the 2025 state championship meet.
“These young women earned their place on the podium—and the right to express themselves,” Steinmann said. “Instead of respecting their viewpoint that girls’ sports should be for girls only, Oregon officials sidelined them. The First Amendment protects the right to dissent—school officials don’t get to reprimand students who refuse to agree with their beliefs.”
The complaint alleges that the OSAA has a long history of supporting student protests when the cause aligns with officials’ political views — Black Lives Matter, for example — but selectively discriminated against Anderson and Eckard. It also alleges that the trans-identifying athletes were given special privileges at that particular meet, “allowing them to skip inspection protocols and competition rules that female athletes were required to follow.”
Following their events at the state championship meet at the end of May, Eckard and Anderson refused to step onto the medals podium alongside the trans-identifying athlete — who had tied for fifth place. Instead, they turned their backs on the podium and stood behind it. As soon as officials realized what they were doing, they were waved off to the side.
Oregon girls high jump state championships just finished. 2 of the females refused to step on the podium with the male competitor and an adult official relegated them to the sideline for refusing. THIS MUST END. https://t.co/dxIzL8Qf95 pic.twitter.com/mAVVNBIPhW
— Leigh Ann O’Neill (@LaLONeill) May 31, 2025
Anderson later said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “We didn’t refuse to stand on the podium out of hate. We did it because someone has to say this isn’t right. In order to protect the integrity and fairness of girls [sic] sports we must stand up for what is right.”
The trans-identifying athlete — who now goes by the name Lia Rose — previously competed on the boys team as Zachary Rose in 2023, where he took 11th place out of 11 competitors in the JV high jump event.