A dispute over high school cross country eligibility rules in Washington state led to a protest at a Sept. 15 meet and later resulted in a criminal trespass notice that bars one parent from school district property for a year.
Joel Retzlaff was served with a criminal trespass notice keeping him off Camas School District properties for the next year, following the Sept. 15 protest tied to a meet where a transgender athlete from Camas High School competed in girls events under Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) rules.
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Results behind the dispute
On Sept. 5, a cross country athlete and student at Camas High in Washington state finished 76th in a junior varsity race. Midway through the season, the athlete began competing in the girls category, which is permitted under WIAA rules. The same athlete then finished second among 195 girls in a Sept. 26 race in Portland, and on Sept. 29 finished first in a varsity race in a meet against Union High School.
What the runners did
Sierra Retzlaff and Charlie Garrett are cross country runners for Skyview High in Vancouver, Washington. A week before their meet against Camas, the two girls found out they would be racing against a boy. After discussing it, they decided to make a statement by walking up to the starting line with body paint reading “keep women in women’s sports” and then walking off once the race began at the Sept. 15 meet.
The protest prompted mixed reactions. Sierra Retzlaff said she received a lot of support, but also said some friends started ignoring her. Garrett said she is not second-guessing the decision.
“I thought it was more important to show how this is affecting me and all the girls in our district,” Garrett said, adding that she doesn’t have any hate toward the trans athlete. “It comes down to biology and the spots being taken away from Sierra, me and all the girls.”
Signs, chants, and a warning
Joel Retzlaff, Sierra’s father, attended the Sept. 15 meet with his wife and brought two signs. One read: “It will never be OK for a XY to steal an opportunity from a XX.” The other read: “Please only XX competing with XX, XY competing with XY. Keep it fair.”
WIAA has a no-signage rule aside from team banners. Camas athletic director Stephen Baranowski approached Retzlaff, told him the signs were not allowed, and asked him to leave. Retzlaff agreed to take the signs down, but still wanted to make his voice heard as he headed out.
As he walked back to his car after Sierra’s race, Retzlaff held up his sign and chanted, “Keep boys out of girls sports!” After he got into his car, he drove by the venue, honked his horn and repeated the same chant while a friend held the signs out the window.
Trespass notice and safety rationale
The consequence was a criminal trespass notice that keeps Retzlaff off Camas school district properties for the next year.
Superintendent John Anzalone said the notice was not an emotional reaction, but a safety decision. It was relayed to him that Retzlaff drove through a “barrier,” described as an area closed off by construction tape, and that the trespass notice was in the interest of safety.
Retzlaff said Anzalone’s perspective is “valid,” but he does not sound like he has regrets. “I would beg to ask them where all the adults are that know the difference between a boy and a girl and why they’re letting this happen,” Retzlaff said.
Filming allegation at the meet
Garrett also described a confrontation at the Sept. 15 meet involving filming. She said the trans athlete’s mother followed her around and recorded her for much of the meet. Garrett said the filming continued even after Garrett’s mother, Emily Sadowski, confronted the woman and told her to stop.
Initiative 638 vote
On Nov. 3, Washington voters will decide whether to ban biological boys from competing in K-12 girls’ sports through Initiative 638. It would be the first time the public passed a law enforcing such separation.