A Girls-Only Event, and a Match Keeler Says Went Wrong
Alliance Defending Freedom announced Friday that it filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Kallie Keeler, a female wrestler who was 15 years old when the alleged assault occurred. Keeler attended her first tournament of the season, a girls-only event sponsored by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and her school district. For her final match, coaches and a tournament official directed her to face an opponent from another school. Keeler and her mother, Stephanie Brown, believed the opponent was a girl because no one told them otherwise. Keeler says she quickly noticed the athlete was stronger and more powerful than other opponents. She alleges the male wrestler sexually assaulted her during the match by putting his fingers through her spandex and penetrating her private areas.
The Family Reported the Alleged Assault
According to ADF, Brown reported the alleged assault soon afterward and provided video showing her daughter’s distressed reaction in the moment. The organization says school officials did little in response. That failure became part of the family’s broader legal fight over safety, parental notice, and the enforcement of Title IX. This is not merely a disagreement over brackets or a bad call by an official. The family says a teenage girl was placed into a situation she did not understand and was denied meaningful protection after reporting what happened.
ADF Asks the Supreme Court to Step In
The emergency application in K.M.K. v. Washington Interscholastic Activities Association asks the Supreme Court for an injunction while the appeal continues. ADF asks the court to require Washington officials to protect girls’ sports and uphold Title IX’s promise of equal opportunities for female athletes. The filing also asks the court to protect parents’ constitutional right to receive notice before a school places a child in an unsafe situation, including matching female wrestlers against male opponents in competition. A federal district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit previously declined Keeler and Brown’s requests to require school officials to follow Title IX and protect those parental rights.
The Choice Described in the Court Filing
ADF says Washington officials are demanding that Keeler “continue competing against males or sit out sports entirely.” The application also says officials refuse to let her skip matches against males without penalty and will not even notify Brown so she can make that choice herself. Without an injunction, the filing says Keeler will be forced to miss the girls’ wrestling season beginning in November, costing her the equal opportunity Title IX guarantees. It also says Brown will continue to be denied her parental rights. For a family already dealing with an alleged assault, being told to choose between participation and safety is a particularly harsh position.
Bursch Says Girls Should Not Have to Choose Safety or Sport
ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellant Advocacy John Bursch said, “No girl should have to choose between playing the sport she loves and her safety.” He argued that Washington’s policy forces female athletes to compete against males on an uneven playing field and violates Title IX. Bursch also said state officials are diminishing the harm Keeler suffered while putting what he called a political agenda ahead of fairness and safety. The application argues that the public interest favors protecting Keeler’s and Brown’s rights and says Washington officials could return to the sex-based sports system the state used for years and that state law explicitly allows.
Leave a Comment