High school wrestler assaulted by male competitor takes case to 9th Circuit: lawsuit

Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed an emergency motion Thursday on behalf of Kallie Keeler and her mother, Stephanie Brown, asking the appeals court to intervene after a federal judge refused to grant preliminary relief.

Keeler was 15 when she competed in a Dec. 6, 2025, girls’ wrestling tournament at Emerald Ridge High School. According to the lawsuit, neither Keeler nor her mother was told that her opponent was a biological male who identifies as transgender.

During the match, Keeler alleges the wrestler digitally penetrated her through her wrestling attire. Video recorded by Brown showed Keeler appearing distressed and attempting to communicate with her mother from the mat. Keeler has said she eventually allowed herself to be pinned to end the encounter.

Afterward, another coach told Keeler that her opponent was male.

“A 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted because of political cowardice. Washington state officials insist on pushing gender ideology at all costs—even at the expense of girls’ safety and privacy,” ADF Senior Counsel Hal Frampton said Thursday.

“Our client’s story shows the grave harms caused by lying about biology,” Frampton added. “Washington’s policies not only subject Kallie to an unfair athletic disadvantage, but they also put her at risk of unknowingly wrestling a male again—unless she leaves the sport she loves.”

The emergency appeal follows a series of legal and criminal developments stemming from the match. Brown contacted school officials shortly after the incident and provided video of the match. However, the Puyallup School District did not report the allegation to law enforcement until 53 days later. Washington law requires school personnel to report suspected child abuse or sexual abuse within 48 hours.

The delay ultimately resulted in criminal charges against Rogers High School Principal Jason Smith and Athletic Coordinator Peter Collins. The two administrators were charged in July with gross misdemeanors for allegedly failing to comply with Washington's mandatory reporting requirements.

The Trump administration also opened a federal Title IX investigation into the Puyallup School District following the allegations. The Department of Education said the investigation would examine whether the district violated Title IX by allowing males to compete in female sports, permitting males to access girls’ locker rooms, and failing to adequately respond to sexual assault allegations.

Pierce County prosecutors declined to criminally charge Keeler's opponent. Prosecutors said Washington case law regarding implied consent during athletic competition created a barrier to proving a sexual assault charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

The prosecutor's memo said officials had “no doubt” that Keeler did not want the alleged penetration to occur but concluded that existing case law concerning consent in athletic contests would make prosecution difficult.

Keeler and Brown filed their federal lawsuit in June against the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Superintendent Chris Reykdal, the Puyallup School District, and other officials. The lawsuit argues that Washington's policies governing transgender athletes violate Title IX and the family's constitutional rights. The case has now moved into an increasingly urgent fight over whether Brown must be notified before her daughter is matched against another male athlete.

US District Judge David Castillo denied the family's request for a preliminary injunction on Aug. 23. Keeler and Brown appealed to the Ninth Circuit two days later and asked the district court for protection while that appeal proceeded. Castillo denied that request on Aug. 31, prompting Thursday's emergency filing with the appeals court. According to ADF, district officials have told Brown and Keeler that males will continue to be permitted in girls’ wrestling and that Brown will not necessarily be notified before her daughter is matched against one.

The emergency motion argues that policy violates Brown's constitutional parental rights. “Under a long line of Supreme Court decisions, Brown is entitled to notice that [Kallie] is set to face a male and to opt [her] out of those matches,” ADF attorneys wrote.

Keeler has wrestled since she was four years old, but her attorneys say the current policy leaves her with a choice between accepting the possibility of another match against a male without advance warning or walking away from the sport.