Washington girls walk off cross country meet in protest of male athlete, parents reveal how it came to this
About a dozen Camas High School girls walked off a cross-country race in Washington on 13 October, protesting a male athlete’s participation in the girls’ competition. The action, led by runner Holly Burns and joined by teammates, drew widespread attention to a dispute over how transgender athletes compete in school sports.
Burns’s parents said she was initially reluctant to protest, but changed her mind after teammates discussed acting together. The meet was against Battle Ground and took place at Camas; the school district says it follows Washington law and athletics association eligibility rules. The parents said event security challenged their signs, and that other parents expressed support privately, while they respected the girls who chose to race.
- About a dozen Camas girls walked away from a cross-country race.
- They were protesting a male athlete competing in the girls’ event.
- Their parents said teammates’ support helped prompt the decision.
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School sport rules set out who can enter girls’ and boys’ competitions, and those rules can differ between states and sports bodies. In Washington, public school teams follow state law and guidance from the organisation that oversees school athletics.
The dispute concerns transgender athletes, whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth, and how they may take part in school sport. Supporters of inclusion emphasise equal participation; others raise questions about fairness and safety in girls’ events. The rules aim to address these concerns, and disagreements over them have made school competitions a focus of wider debate.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of allowing transgender girls to compete in girls’ school sports argue that inclusion respects students’ gender identity and lets them take part in school life with their peers. They may also stress that eligibility should follow established state and athletics-association rules, applied consistently rather than changed in response to public pressure.
The case against
Those who oppose the policy argue that girls’ competitions exist to provide fair opportunities in a category shaped by sex-based physical differences, and that including a transgender girl may disadvantage female athletes. They see the walk-off as a legitimate way for students to voice concerns about fairness and representation, while recognising that individual athletes deserve respect.