Teen faces civil rights complaint after refusing to play against trans basketball player

A high school basketball player in Washington state is fighting back against allegations of bullying and harassment after she refused to play against a transgender athlete in her final game of the season.

15-year-old Frances Staudt and her mother, Aimee, discussed how her refusal to play against a biological male ignited a firestorm with the Tumwater School District during “Fox & Friends,” and allegedly prompted a series of threats against their family. 

“They [the school district] could have avoided this happening,” Aimee told Steve Doocy on Thursday. “They knew, admittedly, that there was going to be this situation, and they had a meeting, the principal, the superintendent, and the athletic director to discuss the fact that this was a potential situation that was coming up.”

The Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) filed a civil rights complaint on Frances’ behalf to the Department of Education after the school district reportedly launched an investigation into Frances for “misgendering” her transgender opponent.

After warming up for the Feb. 7 game, Frances notified her coach of her refusal to play against the “quite obvious” biological male spotted on the opposing team. Aimee says she then approached the school athletic director, who allegedly responded that the school will not discriminate based on sexual identity in accordance with Washington state law.

“When [Frances] was leaving, she was so mad, she felt like she had been exposed, and it was just a terrible situation,” Aimee said. “She walked by and said that ‘you’re a man.’ She was so frustrated in the situation, and that is why she has been now charged with bullying, harassment, and intimidation for misgendering this person.”

Then, per the complaint, a school employee allegedly confronted Staudt’s younger brother about taking a video of the game, saying, “You better think twice about what you’re doing right now.”

Shortly after the incident, Frances spoke out about the situation on social media, which was reportedly met with discrimination allegations and threats.

The trans athlete involved in the incident later stated in an interview that she would have sat out the game if anyone had expressed an issue. 

“If any other person or player I’m playing against is like, ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this,’ I don’t mind sitting out,” she said on the YouTube series “[un]Divided with Brandie Kruse.” 

Aimee believes that if the families had been notified of the situation beforehand and given players the option to sit out of the game, it could have yielded a different outcome. 

“But they didn’t do that,” she said. “They put the kids on the spot, and my daughter was the one that actually stood up in this situation, and… she was exposed… It was awful the way they handled it.”

The Tumwater School District released a statement on the controversy: “We recognize that students and families hold diverse perspectives on various topics, including participation in athletics, and we respect the rights of individual students to make their personal decisions regarding their participation in athletic events.”

“As a district, we remain committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all students feel safe, supported, and valued,” it read.

Despite President Donald Trump’s recent executive order banning biological males from women’s sports, Washington is one of the many Democrat-run states, including California, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Maine, that have pushed back on the mandate.

Washington’s high school athletes are currently allowed to compete based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex. 

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) policy states that each athlete will participate in programs “consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed,” and there are not even any medical or legal requirements. Bills that would prohibit transgender girls from participating in girls’ and women’s sports have been introduced but not passed.

“We did get a letter late Friday that they have found that… she has violated WIAA policy. She hasn’t violated Tumwater School policy, so now they’ve placed her on what they’re saying is, if there’s any further incidents, she can be charged with further discipline,” Aimee said. 

“So it’s basically like they’re holding this over her head.”

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Stephen Collopy

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