Washington High School Runner Protests Transgender Athlete Inclusion

Battle Ground High sophomore Elise Bierer walked off the starting line alone during the Greater St. Helens League District Meet on Wednesday, ending her cross country season in protest of competing against a transgender athlete. Bierer, the second-fastest female runner on her team, forfeited her opportunity to advance to regionals.

According to her mother, Sheona Bierer, Elise had anticipated such a situation for years and was prepared to protest on principle if forced to race against a biological male competing as a girl. “When we talked about that, she said if that were to happen, she would stand up for what was right and just not compete,” Sheona Bierer stated. She added that Elise would not return to the team next year if she had to compete against the transgender runner.

Initially, a plan was for other Battle Ground girls to join Elise in walking off the start line, but these plans changed before the race. This left Bierer to make her statement independently. "I'm super proud. I'm still overwhelmed," Sheona Bierer said of her daughter's decision. "I know this is really hard, but I love her, and I'm so glad that she's going to stand up for what's right, even when everybody else is walking away from what's right and chose to buckle under pressure."

Bierer did not inform her coach, Patricia Tester, of her plan, fearing she would be moved to the junior varsity race. Attempts to speak with Tester and another Battle Ground coach after the race were met with refusal, with one coach stating, “Leave the kids alone.”

The transgender athlete in question, who competes for Camas High, finished second out of 26 runners in the women's varsity race. This performance officially displaced a biological girl from advancing to regionals, as only 21 runners can qualify. The athlete also contributed to Camas High's first-place finish in the women's varsity team results. Earlier in the season, the same athlete finished first in a varsity dual meet after placing 76th among boys in a separate race a few weeks prior.

This protest follows a similar action by several of the transgender athlete's own Camas High teammates. Approximately a dozen girls from Camas reportedly walked off the starting line of a previous race. One of these runners, Holly Burns, spoke at a rally supporting Initiative 638, a ballot measure aiming to require K-12 athletes to compete according to their sex at birth. Burns noted that while they didn't expect their protest to change anything, it seemed to have "made a wave."

Washington state law permits high school males to compete against high school females if they identify as such, a policy that has caused distress among some female athletes. According to one parent, 18 girls from Camas have quit the team entirely this season. Bierer's solitary protest has drawn attention to the ongoing debate surrounding transgender participation in girls' sports.