Dispute in Washington as Boy Running in Girls' Cross-Country Meet Costs Puyallup Team a Trip to State

A heated dispute has broken out at a regional cross-country meet at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, over a boy competing in the girls' division. The Camas High School runner finished seventh in the girls' regional meet.

In the girls' 4A division, the Puyallup High School team finished eighth. Under the rules, the top seven teams advance to the state championship. Without the Camas runner's contribution, Puyallup would have advanced to state — and that is the centre of the dispute.

Skyview High School runner Sierra Retzlaff has publicly opposed a biological male competing against girls. When the Camas runner's name was called, her father Joel Retzlaff yelled, "That's a man!" But although the name was called, the runner did not walk up to the podium.

Camas coach Matt LeGrand would not comment on why the runner did not appear. The Puyallup team's coach also would not comment.

The runner started the season on the boys' team, finishing 76th in the season's opening JV meet. After switching to the girls' team mid-season, the runner has won a varsity meet and finished second three times. In the past two meets — at districts last week and again at regionals on Saturday — the runner placed just ahead of Skyview runner Charlie Garrett.

Garrett said she finished less than a second behind the Camas runner, but she set a personal record and qualified for state. On the runner not showing up at the podium, Garrett said, "It shows why he shouldn't be in it. He has a reason not to show up."

Carol Brown, a three-time Olympian who won a bronze medal in rowing, said she fought for Title IX to be allowed to play sports at all. "I never thought 50 years later I'd be fighting it again," she said. "And I absolutely believe in rights for everyone to participate in sport, but for it to be fair and safe, it has to be based on sex."

Brown said, "It's absolutely unfair. The girls put in work, and what I find the hardest to accept is that everyone is saying the girls' voices don't matter, their emotions don't matter, their hard work once again took a second seat to the males."

Jasmin Faulk, executive director of the Women's Liberation Front (WOLF), said the issue is about the safety and fairness of women and girls, and that fairness should not be a partisan issue. One protester, Dawn Land, held up a sign reading "Girls deserve fair sports!"

On Tuesday, Washington voters will vote on Initiative 638, which would prohibit biological males from competing in girls' K-12 sports. Carol Brown made a direct plea: "Vote yes if you believe in fair and safe sports for girls."