“No girl should have to choose between playing the sport she loves and her safety.”
A female Washington teenage wrestler who says a trans-identified male opponent sexually assaulted her during a girls’ high school tournament is asking the US Supreme Court to intervene before she must choose between facing male competitors again or missing the upcoming season.
Alliance Defending Freedom announced Monday that its attorneys filed an emergency application Friday on behalf of Kallie Keeler and her mother, Stephanie Brown. The request seeks protections allowing Keeler to compete while her appeal proceeds, along with advance notice and the ability to decline matches against male opponents without penalty.
Keeler was 15 when she competed in a December 6, 2025, girls’ wrestling tournament at Emerald Ridge High School. According to the lawsuit, neither she nor her mother was told that her opponent was a biological male who identifies as transgender.
Keeler alleges that the opponent sexually assaulted her during the match. Video recorded by Brown showed her daughter appearing distressed, and Keeler has said she eventually allowed herself to be pinned to end the encounter. Another coach subsequently told her that her opponent was male.
Brown reported the incident to school personnel and provided video evidence, but the family alleges officials waited 53 days before contacting law enforcement. Rogers High School Principal Jason Smith and Athletic Coordinator Peter Collins were charged in July with gross misdemeanors for allegedly failing to comply with Washington’s mandatory reporting requirements.
The allegations also prompted a federal Title IX investigation into the Puyallup School District. The Education Department said it would examine male participation in female sports, access to girls’ locker rooms, and the district’s response to sexual assault allegations. Federal officials said at least a dozen female athletes had complained to administrators about two males in the girls’ locker room.