Republican women in the Oregon Legislature sent a discriminatory letter to the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) on Tuesday, April 16, prompting a response from the OSAA on Thursday, April 18.
The letter from the Republican group was addressed to OSAA executive director Peter Weber, encouraging him and the organization to change its policy when it comes to allowing transgender student-athletes to compete, specifically aiming at trans women competing in girls events.
The OSAA’s current policy allows for a student to compete in athletics under the gender in which the student identifies with.
“... once a nonbinary or intersex student has notified the student’s school of their gender identity, the student shall be treated as either gender for purposes of eligibility for athletics and activities that are gender-segregated or gender-specific,” the OSAA policy reads under Policy 38, Section B(3).
The April 16 letter from the Republican group cites unsourced “outrage” over transgender inclusion and leads to misgendering of transgender women athletes.
The 12 signees include Sen. Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer), Sen. Suzanne Weber (R-Tillamook), Rep. Christine Goodwin (R-Canyonville), Rep. Anna Scharf (R-Amity), Rep. Bobby Levy (R-Echo), Rep. Emily McIntire (R-Eagle Point), Rep.Kim Wallan (R-Medford), Rep. Lucetta Elmer (R-McMinnville), Rep. Jami Cate (R-Lebanon), Rep. Shelly Boshart (R-Albany), Rep. Tracy Cramer (R-Gervais) and Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville).
“Sadly, this policy has precisely the opposite of its stated effect. Instead of promoting harmony, it has sparked outrage,” the Republican group’s letter states. “Instead of ensuring fair competition, a biological male has found a place in the female sports record books. Any girls’ title held by a male is not a girls’ title at all.”
What prompted the letter from the Oregon Senate and House Republicans was an April 13 track meet hosted by Sherwood High School, in which McDaniel High School sophomore Aayden Gallagher competed.
Gallagher is a transgender woman and competed in the girls 200 and 400 meter races, finishing in second place in both events. She was also on the McDaniel 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay races, helping the Mountain Lions take seventh and eighth, respectively.
A viral video of Gallagher seemingly blowing away the competition in the 200 meter race made its rounds to several social media accounts with transphobic messages, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and “Libs of Tik Tok.”
However, the video was taken largely out of context. The Need for Speed meet was Gallagher’s first of the season where she competed in the 200, meaning she had no seed time entered. With no seed time, Gallagher was placed in the slowest of nine different heats, allowing her to create some distance in the heat, but ultimately not winning the event.
“Oregon student athletes should not be worried about politicians using their names in any effort to politicize or police gender,” Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber of Beaverton and House Majority Leader Ben Bowman of Tigard told the Capital Chronicle. “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.”
Following the meet in Sherwood, the Republican women in the Oregon Legislature sent the letter to Weber saying the policy hurt girls athletes and that the 12 signees would pursue legislative changes to remove all records set by transgender athletes.
However, Gallagher did not set any records, coming well short of the state records in both events, running 25.49 seconds in the 200 (state record is 22.43) and 55.61 in the 400 (state record is 53.17).
Not only that, but the Republican group also misgenders Gallagher in the letter, along with misspelling her first name as “Ayden” and also incorrectly stating McDaniel High School is in Sherwood. McDaniel is located in Northeast Portland.
The group of lawmakers also called for parents to boycott events where transgender athletes are competing, claiming the OSAA policy is "unfair" toward female athletes.
Weber responded to the letter Thursday, which was also sent to the Portland Tribune.
In the response, Weber cited an Oregon law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, which the legislature amended in 2019 to include gender identity following the Oregon Department of Education, including identity under the sexual orientation umbrella.
With that change to law in mind, OSAA worked with ODE to create a policy that was encompassing of all students and noted in the OSAA handbook, "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 OSAA, under the guidance of our member schools, creates and implements policies that comply with federal and state laws, including laws that are intended to keep our students safe and free from discrimination,” Weber wrote. “Over the years, legislative directives from Oregon legislators have prompted the OSAA to adopt rules and policies that incorporate those directives.”
And when it came to the track meet in Sherwood, Weber saw no need for further investigation.
“As the Executive Director of OSAA, I work with our member schools and legal counsel to establish rules, policies and guidelines that follow the legislative directives of the Oregon Legislature,” Weber wrote. “With regard to the track meet described in your letter, we believe that our policy and our member schools are in compliance with all applicable laws.”
Portland Public Schools said it adheres to guidelines set forth by the OSAA, and told the Portland Tribune it has several resources for non-binary students on its website and resources for its teachers as well.
OSAA also said it distributes resources to member schools through its website and will pass down any added directions it is given from ODE.
Weber said the OSAA doesn't have information on how many transgender student-athletes current compete or keep tabs on their performance.
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