Holly Burns and about a dozen other girls dropped out of a cross-country race in Washington on Tuesday. They refused to compete against a male athlete who had started the season competing on the men’s team. When the race began, half of the girls competing, and the male athlete, ran away. Burns and the other half of the girls slowly walked past the starting line and then toward the nearby tree line, sacrificing one of their high school competitions. NO APOLOGIES AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD YOUR DAILY PODCAST NOW! Images of the protest have since gone viral on social media, raising widespread awareness about one of the trans athlete incidents currently affecting Washington state. For Burns, a running back at Camas High School, the decision to protest was reinforced by strength in numbers. Her parents, Kevin and Sarah Burns, told OutKick that their daughter initially wanted to avoid “making waves.” “She wanted to play it safe, so we weren’t going to force it. We just let her feel it. We told her. We support her in whatever decision she tries to make,” Kevins said. The teammates began to talk. The girls shared their concerns. They decided to act together. And her parents supported her. “The more I heard that his friends wanted to do something, the more I heard that his team wanted to do something, we definitely supported him,” Kevin said. “We told him: Do what you think is best.” The October 13 matchup pitted Camas against Battle Ground. Camas hosted the event on the Underwriters Lab campus, where the girls’ race was scheduled for 4 p.m. The Burns said they recently learned of the athlete’s move to the girls’ competition. They worried what it would mean for their daughter and her teammates. “You hear about it, but you never think it’s going to be on your kid’s little cross-country team,” Sarah said. ATTORNEY FOR ALLEGED TRANS ATHLETE SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM SAYS FIGHT AGAINST SCOTUS CAN HELP SET TITLE IX PRECEDENT A Camas High cross country runner, who switched from the men’s team to the women’s team mid-season, is at the starting line of a girls’ race at the Nike Hole in the Wall XC Invitational. (OutKick) The Camas School District has said it follows Washington law and the eligibility rules of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. For the Burnses, that policy leaves their daughter’s concerns unresolved. “I don’t see how it’s okay to discriminate against my daughter and everyone else’s daughters who are trying to compete fairly,” Kevin said. Their own protest began before the girls left. CAPITOL HILL AS TRANS ATHLETES ISSUE looms over midterms They arrived with signs and were challenged by security, parents said. “They said we can’t hold signs at this event today,” Kevin Burns said. “I asked them if that was constitutionally legal, if we could express ourselves by simply holding a sign. And we went back and forth about public property versus private property. And in the end, it didn’t seem like they really understood what they could tell us to do or not do.” So I went ahead and held up my sign, and several security guards followed me, bothering me, and telling me I would have to leave. And I just said, ‘No, I’m not leaving.'” A Camas High cross country runner, who switched from the boys’ team to the girls’ team midseason, stands at the starting line of a girls’ race at the Nike Hole in the Wall “I had a lady come up to me and tell me that she was a psychiatric nurse and that I was a disgusting human being for holding this sign and that I was causing psychological harm to these children,” Sarah said. “I told her that one day I will have to stand before my Lord and Savior and I will feel good about this.” they said. For Holly, they still don’t know what it will mean to be left out. “Well, we don’t know yet,” they said when asked if the protest cost him the opportunity to achieve something he had worked for. “But I think everything has a cost when you stand up for what you think is right. If there wasn’t, then you’re not really standing up for anything,” they said. “His goal this season was just to have fun and compete and do the best he could.” Now his parents hope he can continue pursuing those goals while being with his teammates. There are more races left. Camas schedules its next championship for Oct. 21 at Lewisville Regional Park. Another decision awaits Washington voters on November 3. Initiative 638 would prohibit students it defines as biologically male from competing in certain female-only interscholastic athletic competitions and would require students wishing to participate in those competitions to provide verification of biological sex from a health care provider. The Burns support the measure. But even if voters approve it, the measure would take effect 30 days after the election, which is scheduled for Nov. 7. The athlete at the center of the dispute had already competed in several women’s races. race at the Ultimook competition in Oregon (Left to right) Athletes Frances Staudt, Bailey Andersen, Sadie Sullivan, Kendall Kotzmacher and Alanna Smith stand behind emcee and podcast host Brandi Kruse at a Protecting Fairness in Women’s Sports rally in Vancouver, Washington (Derek Shook for OutKick). By September 15, the runner was competing in the women’s race at a Camas meet in which Skyview was participating. with the athlete or the athlete’s family. Their position, they said, was that the racer should compete with the children. “Your son has every right to participate in boys’ athletics, just like they did at the beginning of the season, but it’s not fair to the girls,” they said during the interview. Holly’s parents rejected the idea that the stakes become insignificant because athletes are in high school. “Some of these girls work really hard to compete. It’s most of what they do all summer. It means a lot to them,” they said. They argued that missing opportunities can undo the rewards of that effort. “So that’s devastating to all the hard work. It erases everything they’ve done. Superintendent Chris Reykdal defended Washington’s protections. He said the state had allowed students to participate in sports according to their gender identity since 2007 and would continue to enforce its laws unless Congress or the federal courts changed the legal requirements. A separate Washington sports dispute also reached the Supreme Court. A high school wrestler identified in court documents as KMK and her mother, Stephanie Brown, asked for help from emergency, including a notice and an opportunity to reject competition against male athletes without sanctions, in a filing Tuesday, arguing that the requested relief would conflict with state law and compromise the privacy of other students. The Supreme Court docket showed responses filed Tuesday and no decision on the request to continue appearing. “So we made some contacts and we could move forward with it and have a more organized protest next time,” Kevin said. answer came quickly. Yes, we will.” They also said they were prepared for more national attention if it helped bring about change. Some friends disagree with his position. The couple hopes those relationships can survive the dispute. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE “I think we can respect each other outside of controversy,” they said. Their fears extend beyond a career. They worry about what the policy means for college athletics, Olympic competition and other spaces reserved for women. “Women’s spaces will be erased,” they said. she said. For now, her daughter has decided to support her teammates. Her parents want other families to know that they can speak out, too. “Don’t be afraid.” “Defend the rights of girls.” They need their sports. They need their athletics.” OutKick reached out to Camas, WIAA, Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction and Battle Ground for comment. Battle Ground hosted the race. Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital who covers critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to Title IX enforcement, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
