Oregon HS Female Athlete Explains Protest Of Transgender Opponent: 'Isn't Right'

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump signing an executive order to keep males out of girls' and women's sports, several states and school districts have elected to openly defy the order. One of those states is Oregon, which is currently under investigation by the Department of Education over potential Title IX violations related to allowing males to compete in girls' sports. 

On April 18, female high school athlete Sophia Carpenter knew that she'd have to compete against a male, "Liaa" Rose, in the high jump at her home school's invitational, the Therapeutic Associates Chehalem Classic. Carpenter told OutKick that she was unsure, going into the event, if she would participate. 

"I figured out the day before the competition that this competitor would be there. And going in, it was obviously distressing, but I was going to compete anyway," she said. 

However, she learned that several other girls had made the decision to sit out as a show of protest for including a male in the girls' event. Once she found that out, she started to consider other options when her time came. 

"Not that far into the competition, I heard that a couple of girls were dropping out in protest. And I thought, 'Oh, that's interesting, I'm not the only one that thinks this way and knows this isn't right,'" she said. But Carpenter wasn't quite ready to protest just yet. At least, not until she spoke to one of the other girls. 

"I was really struck by her confidence and I thought there's power in numbers. And so I knew I wanted to join her," Carpenter recounted. 

A female high school athlete in Oregon spoke to OutKick about her decision to sit out a track & field event rather than compete against a transgender opponent.

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Rose ended up winning the high jump, and was the only athlete in the girls' division to record a jump over five feet. None of the 18 girls who competed jumped higher than 4'10" during the meet. Currently, Carpenter is ranked fifth in the state for 6A schools in the high jump. 

While many people are quick to tell girls to refuse to compete against males, it's not that simple. For many of these athletes, sitting out means potentially sacrificing future opportunities. That's why Carpenter said that she can't protest the state meet later in the season, even if the male athlete is present, which is very likely. 

"Most likely we'll run into each other at state. And at that kind of level, I'm not going to step down. It's not worth it to me at that point," Carpenter said. "There's a lot on the line at state… hopefully there are future scholarships for when I go to college. And so I have to take that opportunity to compete at a high level.

"I've worked years and years, put so much time into this sport. And at the of the day, I deserve to be on the podium and to get those opportunities. And I'm not gonna let a boy take that from me," she added. "I am glad that I was able to stand up with other girls at this invitational, but I can't afford to do it every time. That's not fair to anyone." 

Sophia Carpenter's mother, Rebecca, wants to see the federal government step in and put a stop to males competing in girls' and women's sports in Oregon. 

Rebecca Carpenter told OutKick that she wants Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after Oregon for allowing males to compete in female sports. 

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"We want to draw the U.S. [Department of Justice's] attention to this issue so that they'll come after Oregon the way that they're going after Maine right now. Because our governor, the Oregon Department of Education, the Oregon School Activities Association, are set on allowing this to happen. They aren't going to change. And so we need national intervention," she said. 

Two weeks ago, the United States federal government filed a civil lawsuit against the state of Maine for continuing to allow males to compete in women's sports. Attorney General Pam Bondi made it clear that the government will not tolerate states openly defying Trump's order to restore fairness and safety in girls' and women's sports. 

"The Department of Justice will not sit by when women are discriminated against in sports. This is about sports, this is also about these young women's personal safety," Bondi said. "We have exhausted every other remedy… we don't like standing up here and filing lawsuits." 

While Rebecca Carpenter acknowledged that she knows families have left Oregon because of its political leanings, she and her family have decided to stay and fight. 

"We've had friends move out of state because of the liberalness of this state [and] moved to more conservative states. I get that and appreciate that, but we've chosen to stay. So, this is a battle that we have to fight.

"We want Pam Bondi to notice Oregon, please," Carpenter concluded.