‘It’s maddening’: High School Girls Drop Out Rather Than Race Against Biological Boy

A Washington State father is facing trespassing charges and barred from visiting a Portland-area high school after protesting a state policy that would have required his daughter to compete against a biological male in a September cross-country race.The boy towered over the other competitors as they lined up under cloudy skies at Camas High School in the Portland suburbs for the early season race. Reportedly, the boy was “trying it out” with administrators, who were unable to stop him due to a Washington state policy that allows student athletes to compete based on which sex they identify with.For two teenage girls on the competing team, this was too much. Sophomore Skyview High runners Sierra Retzlaff and Charlie Garrett painted their legs and arms with “keep women’s sports women’s sports.” When the race began, Sierra and Charlie walked off the field rather than participate in a charade.High school runners Charlie Garrett (left) and Sierra Retzlaff pose after dropping out of a cross-country race to protest the decision to allow a biological boy to compete in the race. Via Joel Retzlaff“It is absurd, it’s maddening,” Sierra’s father, Joel Retzlaff, told The New York Sun in a phone interview Thursday. “It’s not just my daughter and her friend, it’s literally every girl in that race for the sake of one boy who needs his ego stroked by getting a better time against his competition, a better place amongst his competition — and we believe that’s what’s going on here.”To support his daughter, Mr. Retzlaff brought a sign to the September 15 race that read “keep it fair” and “Please only XX competing with XX.”“I’ve never gotten into any kind of protesting, and I honestly I do my best to kind of stay in my own lane, but this definitely got me riled up and something needed to be done,” said Mr. Retzlaff.For his efforts, Mr. Retzlaff was issued a trespassing summons and has been banned from the Camas High School grounds for a year. He says a security guard told him to put the sign away, which he did. But as the match was ending, Mr. Retzlaff tried to lead a chant, then had a friend drive him on an access road in the parking lot where spectators could see him as he held his sign while hanging out the window.His daughter has not faced any punishment from her team, he said. Meanwhile, the boy runner from Camas has continued to compete in other cross-country races, his ranking going from a 76th place finish among boy competitors at Oregon’s Ultimook Invite to first place against girl runners in a recent meet against Union High School at Vancouver, Washington.The whole experience left Mr. Retzlaff with mixed emotions.“I would say angry and proud at the same time,” he said. “Proud of my daughter for standing up for what’s right and angry that she even had to do that. She works real hard, year-round to be really good at what she does. We pay for private coaching, we do all these things only to have it essentially ripped away by somebody who doesn’t deserve to be there.”“She works too hard to have it shipped away by somebody who has an unfair advantage, a built-in advantage,” he added.The girls walked off the field and into a political storm that’s gripped Washington state in an election year. Initiative 638 is on the ballot on November 3: The initiative would require school districts and non-profits to “prohibit biologically male students from competing with and against female students” in sports and require those who want to compete in athletics to present a note from a healthcare provider verifying their biological sex.Critics of the measure have falsely claimed it would mandate genital inspections of student athletes.The Camas school district has previously responded to media inquiries about the boy runner by saying “students are permitted to participate in athletics consistent with their gender identity.” The statement continues: “The district will continue to follow state law and WIAA requirements unless those laws and rules change.”Sierra and Charlie won’t have to decide whether to face the boy runner again until the District championships scheduled for later this fall.“She will go up against this boy at finals if he continues to race,” Mr. Retzlaff said, “and it will displace a girl from the four schools that race the districts. Somebody is going to not go that deserves to go: that could very well be my daughter, could be my daughter’s friend, could be another teammate but somebody is gonna get displaced by this boy and not be able to run.”

‘It’s maddening’: High School Girls Drop Out Rather Than Race Against Biological Boy

‘It’s maddening’: High School Girls Drop Out Rather Than Race Against Biological Boy

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