Two high school track and field athletes in Oregon have refused to stand on the medal podium alongside a transgender competitor at the state championship on Saturday night.
Reese Eckard of Sherwood High School and Alexa Anderson of Tigard High School stepped down from their respective positions during the high jump medal ceremony.
The incident has sparked considerable praise on social media, with the pair being lauded by prominent conservative activist Riley Gaines amongst others.
Both athletes finished ahead of the transgender competitor from Ida B. Wells High School, with Anderson placing third and Eckard fourth, whilst the transgender athlete tied for fifth place.
The symbolic protest represents part of a growing trend of female athletes making similar gestures against transgender inclusion in women’s sports.
Footage obtained by Fox News Digital captured the two high school seniors stepping down from the podium next to the transgender athlete who represented Ida B. Wells High School.
The two females faced the opposite direction as other competitors received their medals from officials.
An official was then seen confronting the young women and gesturing for them to move away.
Eckard and Anderson subsequently walked away from the podium and stood off to the side.
The transgender athlete had previously competed in the boys’ category in 2023 and 2024, according to Fox News Digital’s earlier reporting.
Anderson later provided a statement explaining their actions: “We didn’t refuse to stand on the podium out of hate. We did it because someone has to say this isn’t right. In order to protect the integrity and fairness of girls sports we must stand up for what is right.”
On social media site X, the response was largely one of praise from people commenting as one person responded: “Not all heroes wear capes. Good for them! Shame on the adult who pushed them off to the sidelines.”
Another wrote: “Absolute nonsense! Good for you girls!”
And a third said: “Great job Ladies way to make the brave choice!”
On 17th May at a California track and field sectional final, Reese Hogan of Crean Lutheran High School stepped from the second-place spot onto the first-place medal podium after her transgender opponent, AB Hernandez, stepped down from it.
Hogan’s action was similarly praised on social media by Gaines and others.
Earlier, on 2nd April, footage of women’s fencer Stephanie Turner kneeling to protest a transgender opponent at a competition in Maryland went viral after she was subsequently punished for her actions.
The Maryland incident ignited global awareness and scrutiny against USA Fencing.
Oregon joined several other Democratic-controlled states that saw transgender athletes compete in girls’ track and field championships over the weekend, with highly-publicised incidents also occurring in California, Washington, Maine and Minnesota.
Federal authorities have launched multiple investigations targeting states that permit transgender participation in women’s sports.
Two female athletes told up for themselves and all women today by not standing on a podium with a MAN at Oregon's high jump state championship.
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) June 1, 2025
Not all heroes wear capes.
Good for them!
Shame on the adult who pushed them off to the sidelines.
pic.twitter.com/8wqCX6D5oR
The America First Policy Institute filed a Title IX discrimination complaint against Oregon on 27th May, alleging violations of federal law for allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports.
The complaint was submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which has already initiated Title IX investigations against high school sports leagues in California, Minnesota, Maine and Massachusetts.
Jessica Hart Steinmann, AFPI’s executive general counsel, stated: “Every girl deserves a fair shot – on the field, on the podium, and in life.”
President Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order on 5th February, making opposition to transgender athletes in girls’ sports an administration priority. The Department of Justice has launched a lawsuit against Maine for defying Trump’s executive order, whilst the president suggested federal funding pauses could target California.