WA teen asks Supreme Court to protect her from trans-identified male wrestling opponents after alleged sexual assault in competition

Alliance Defending Freedom announced Monday that its attorneys filed an emergency application Friday on behalf of Kallie Keeler and her mother, Stephanie Brown. The request seeks protections allowing Keeler to compete while her appeal proceeds, along with advance notice and the ability to decline matches against male opponents without penalty.

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

Keeler alleges that the opponent sexually assaulted her during the match. Video recorded by Brown showed her daughter appearing distressed, and Keeler has said she eventually allowed herself to be pinned to end the encounter. Another coach subsequently told her that her opponent was male.

Brown reported the incident to school personnel and provided video evidence, but the family alleges officials waited 53 days before contacting law enforcement. Rogers High School Principal Jason Smith and Athletic Coordinator Peter Collins were charged in July with gross misdemeanors for allegedly failing to comply with Washington’s mandatory reporting requirements.

The allegations also prompted a federal Title IX investigation into the Puyallup School District. The Education Department said it would examine male participation in female sports, access to girls’ locker rooms, and the district’s response to sexual assault allegations. Federal officials said at least a dozen female athletes had complained to administrators about two males in the girls’ locker room.

Pierce County prosecutors declined to charge Keeler’s opponent, citing Washington case law involving implied consent to foreseeable physical contact during athletic competition. Prosecutors concluded they could not prove a charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

ADF attorney Kate Anderson previously told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI that Keeler stopped trying to win to end the alleged assault. “The only way she could get it to stop was to allow him to pin her,” Anderson said.

Keeler and Brown’s Supreme Court request follows decisions by a federal district court and the Ninth Circuit declining to grant the temporary protections they sought. Those decisions concern preliminary relief while the lawsuit proceeds, rather than a final resolution of their claims. The family argues that Washington’s policies violate Title IX’s protections for female athletes and Brown’s constitutional parental rights. ADF says officials have refused to guarantee that Keeler can decline matches against males without penalty or provide Brown advance notice so she can withdraw her daughter herself.

“No girl should have to choose between playing the sport she loves and her safety,” said ADF Senior Counsel John Bursch.

With the girls’ wrestling season beginning in November, the emergency application argues that Keeler risks losing another season unless the Supreme Court intervenes.

The case comes as Washington voters prepare to decide Initiative IL26-638, aimed at protecting girls’ school sports by prohibiting biological males from competing in athletic activities designated for females.