Middle School Girl Who Protested Transgender Competitor Speaks Out: 'It's Not Right'

Last week, a U.S. Circuit of Appeals court reversed a ruling that kept a teenage transgender girl (biological male) from competing in girls' sports in West Virginia. In response, five girls refused to compete in a track & field meet against that athlete. 

The group was led by a young female athlete named Emmy Salerno. On Wednesday, Salerno joined Riley Gaines, host of the OutKick podcast "Gaines for Girls," and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey as the AG signed "The Stand With Women Commitment."

Salerno delivered a speech of her own during the press conference. She explained why she felt the need to take a stand and what motivated her to push through the inevitable backlash she might receive. 

"I want to say thank you first … to God for giving us the strength to do this," the middle schooler began. "Thank you to Riley. She's been a huge inspiration and mentor through all of this.

"About two years ago, the transgender movement started becoming more and more popular," she continued. "I was never affected by it until last year. I started to think, 'this can't be right.' All my teammates are working so hard to get beat by this boy… This made me feel like I had to do something not just for myself, but for girls everywhere." 

Salerno went on to explain that her first move was to contact Gaines to ask for advice. With Gaines' support, Salerno started talking to her teammates to see if they wanted to join her in taking action. 

"We hope that it opens eyes for many more to see that this is not right [and] is eventually going to kill women's sports forever." 

Salerno then turned her attention to the ACLU, the group that defended the transgender girl (biological boy) in court and helped get the initial ruling overturned so that the transgender athlete could continue to compete, and win, in the girls' category. 

"What I would love for the ACLU to have seen is what I saw after our last track meet," Salerno said. "[One of my teammates] was walking up the hill, and we can tell something is wrong. My dad went and hugged her, and she said, in tears, ‘He beat me. It's just not fair.' 

"It wasn't the losing that upset her, because the girl that won first place is also one of our friends. What upset her was the fact that she lost second place to a boy. That's what the ACLU needs to see." 

After receiving support from Riley Gaines, West Virginia middle schooner Emmy Salerno led a protest when she was forced to compete against a transgender girl (biological boy).

Then Gaines took the podium to make a very important point about girls like Emmy Salerno. 

"The argument we hear all the time is that the stance that we are taking is ‘anti-trans,’" Gaines said. "How in the world could you hear Emmy … and call her ‘anti-trans’? This is not a matter of being hateful. 

"This is a matter of being pro-fairness. This is a matter of being pro-reality, pro-common sense, pro-safety, and pro-transparency. It is a matter of being pro-woman. And Emmy embodies that. All of these girls embody that perfectly." 

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