Oregon teens who protested trans athlete at medal podium settle free speech lawsuit vs sports league

Former Oregon precocious schoolhouse athletes Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard came to a colony with the state's precocious schoolhouse sports league, the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), successful a suit implicit escaped code violations. 

Anderson and Eckard stepped down from a authorities title medal podium connected the past time of May to protestation a transgender competitor, and alleged they were forced retired of the podium photograph and not fixed their medals successful response. 

"I asked aft the medal ceremonial concluded, we went into benignant of a passageway that leads you backmost retired to the audience, and I asked 1 of the officials, ‘Hey, are we going to get our medals?’ and she said they'd beryllium shipped to our school. And past they were ne'er shipped to our school," Anderson antecedently told Fox News Digital. 

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The 2 teens filed a escaped code suit against the OSAA successful July, and assertion their medals were past sent to their instrumentality firm, America First Policy Institute (AFPI).

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Youlee Yim You denied the OSAA's question to onslaught a information of the suit that highlighted what forms of governmental code the league does allow, including Black Lives Matter and pro-LGBTQ pridefulness messaging, which was a cardinal constituent successful the plaintiffs' argument.

On Tuesday, their AFPI attorneys agreed with OSAA to disregard the suit by statement of the parties. A abstracted suit betwixt the 2 parties implicit Title IX violations is inactive ongoing. 

"Counsel for Plaintiffs Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard certify that they person conferred by telephone successful bully religion with counsel for Defendant OSAA regarding this question to dismiss. Counsel for Defendant has represented that Defendant does not reason this motion," work a tribunal filing obtained by Fox News Digital.

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AFPI Director of Litigation Andrew Zimmitti said that the lawsuit achieved what it acceptable retired to do, successful bringing consciousness to the attraction of Anderson, Eckard and different students successful Oregon who explicit akin views. 

"This lawsuit did precisely what it needed to do," Zimmitti said successful a connection to Fox News Digital. "We protected these young women, we exposed however officials retaliated against them for expressing the truth, and we elevated their communicative to a nationalist audience. Now we proceed the existent combat — restoring Title IX and defending girls’ sports crossed America."

Anderson said, "We spoke up due to the fact that what was happening wasn’t fair. AFPI stood with america from time one, made definite our communicative was heard, helped bring attraction to this contented and are continuing to assistance america combat for protections successful girls’ sports. I’m grateful for everyone who supported us." 

Eckard added, "Getting to basal up and say, ‘I don’t o.k. of this,’ is simply a basal close everyone learns successful school. It was appalling that an existent schoolhouse lawsuit tried to soundlessness us."

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Anderson and Eckard were honored astatine the 2025 Fox Nation Patriot Awards for their protestation and lawsuit, wherever they were fixed the Most Valuable Patriot grant and presented with their authorities title medals. 

"It's decidedly frustrating that we didn't get them successful the moment… but it kinda is what it is astatine this point. There's much important things that we're warring for," Anderson antecedently said. "Of people I wanted that medal, I worked ace hard to get to that spot wherever I was connected the podium… but besides a portion of maine knew that it was portion of the sacrifice that I was making erstwhile I stepped disconnected that podium, and determination were going to beryllium consequences."

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