An elderly woman in Washington state who was barred from the YMCA pool for speaking out against a male in the women’s locker room has settled her lawsuit for $65,000 in what she described as a “victory for common sense.”

Julie Jaman, 83, agreed to drop her complaint against the city of Port Townsend, Washington, and the Olympic Peninsula YMCA filed in June 2024 after she received a lifetime ban for raising objections to a transgender employee supervising girls in the female-designated changing facilities.

“I never imagined that expressing concerns about the safety and privacy of women and girls would lead to me being shunned and banned,” Ms. Jaman said Tuesday in a statement. “I’m grateful that justice has been served and that my voice was heard. This is a victory for common sense, women’s rights, and the right to speak the truth.”

Ms. Jaman, a member of the Mountain View Pool for more than three decades, will receive $65,000 plus legal fees to settle the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

In addition, the YMCA agreed to “remove certain information about Ms. Jaman from its website, further underscoring the baselessness of the actions taken against her,” according to the Center for American Liberty, which represents Ms. Jaman.

“This case was never just about one woman being banned from a publicly owned pool, it was about the fundamental right of every American to speak truth without fear of retaliation,” said Center for American Liberty CEO Mark Trammell. “Julie Jaman bravely stood her ground, endured attacks on her character, and today’s settlement affirms that government officials cannot silence dissenting voices through intimidation or retribution.”

Ms. Jaman will still be prohibited from using the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, according to the city of Port Townsend.

“There is no change of status to the Plaintiff’s access to OPYMCA facilities,” the city said in a May 27 statement. “This includes a permanent ban from all facilities owned or operated by the OPYMCA, and the Plaintiff agrees not to knowingly seek any further membership or entry at any facility owned or operated by the OPYMCA.”

In addition, “both the Plaintiff and the Defendants agree not to harass or make statements to any member of the public, including but not limited to, members of the media or on social media platforms, that they know to be false,” the statement said.

Ms. Jaman was banned in July 2022 after confronting Clementine Adams, a transgender staffer serving as a YMCA camp counselor, who entered the women’s locker room with two girls while Ms. Jaman was showering.

“Jaman thought she was witnessing a crime in progress, so she spoke up as best she could under the circumstances: she told Adams to leave the women’s locker room,” said the court filing.

Ms. Jaman asked, “Do you have a penis?” The staffer responded, “None of your business.” Ms. Jaman replied, “Get out of here!”

Under the settlement, there was no admission of liability by any of the parties.

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.