Washington Father Banned From School Grounds After Protesting Trans Runner

A father in Washington state has been banned from school grounds for a year after protesting a transgender athlete participating in girls' cross country races. Joel Retzlaff received a criminal trespass notice after demonstrating against a biological male competing against his daughter, Sierra Retzlaff, and other female athletes.

The incident occurred following a cross country meet on September 15, where Retzlaff and his wife held signs with messages such as "It will never be OK for a XY to steal an opportunity from a XX" and "Please only XX competing with XX, XY competing with XY. Keep it fair." These signs were in response to a student from Camas High School, who reportedly began competing as a girl mid-season.

Under the rules of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), which governs high school sports in the state, such a gender identity switch during the season is permitted. The student in question, Logan Mihailoff, had previously finished 76th in a JV race before switching to compete as a girl, subsequently finishing first in a varsity race and second among 195 girls in another meet.

When asked to remove the signs due to a WIAA no-signage rule, Retzlaff agreed but continued his protest by holding a sign and chanting "Keep boys out of girls sports!" as he walked to his car. He later drove by the venue, honked his horn, and repeated the chant with a friend holding the signs out the window. Camas' athletic director, Stephen Baranowski, asked Retzlaff to leave, and the school's superintendent, John Anzalone, later stated that the trespass notice was issued because Retzlaff drove through a construction barrier, citing safety concerns.

Retzlaff maintains that he was standing up for girls' sports. His daughter, Sierra Retzlaff, and her teammate Charlie Garrett, also protested by walking to the starting line with body paint reading "keep women in women's sports" and then walking off once the race began. Garrett expressed that the protest was important to show how the situation affects girls and that it comes down to biology and opportunities being taken away.

In response to criticism, Retzlaff questioned the lack of adult intervention in such matters. "I would beg to ask them where all the adults are that know the difference between a boy and a girl and why they're letting this happen," he stated.

Meanwhile, Washington voters are set to decide on Initiative 638 on November 3. This initiative, if passed, would ban biological males from competing in K-12 girls' sports, marking a potential first for the state in enforcing such a separation through public vote.