First, Washington state officials directed a female teen wrestler, Kallie Keeler, to battle a male during a high school wrestling meet.
Then when he allegedly sexually assaulted her on the mat, and she reported it, they violated a mandatory 48-hour reporting law by waiting 53 days to document the case.
And that’s now going before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“A 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted because of political cowardice. Washington state officials insist on pushing gender ideology, even at the expense of girls’ safety, privacy, and fairness,” explained lawyer Hal Frampton, from the ADF, which is working on the case.
“Our client’s injury shows the grave harms caused by lying about biology. Washington’s policies subject Kallie to an unfair athletic disadvantage and to safety risks because they would require her to wrestle males again—unless she leaves the sport she loves. We’re urging the court to require state and school officials to respect parental rights and prioritize girls’ safety in sports.”
Keeler was 15 at the time, and was pitted against a male athlete without her or her mother’s knowledge at a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association event in December 2025.
The ADF reported, “During the match, when the more powerful male athlete sexually assaulted Keeler, she appeared visibly distressed while competing and tried to communicate what was happening to her mother, who was recording the match. Keeler left the mat crying.”
The opening brief now has been filed with the appellate level court.
A lower court refused to offer relief to the teen and her mother, Stephanie Brown, who are suing.
After the match, officials “told Brown and her daughter that they would continue to allow males in girls’ wrestling and would not provide Brown with notice before matching Keeler against a male in the future or opt Keeler out of those matches,” the legal team reported.
The issue before the 9th Circuit is whether the girl’s rights not to be unknowingly forced to compete against a male athlete will be protected.
HUGE: School officials have been charged with failing to report the alleged sexual assault of high school wrestler Kallie Keeler by a trans opponent. Principal Jason Smith and athletic coordinator Peter Collins failed to tell police about the assault for nearly two months, as we… pic.twitter.com/Sdymm1w3N6
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) August 2, 2026
The mother of Washington high school wrestler Kallie Keeler says the fallout from her daughter’s lawsuit has followed them far beyond the wrestling mat.
She says the family has faced public scrutiny, harassment, and unwanted attention since filing suit over an alleged sexual… pic.twitter.com/sjmITuVDCO
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 15, 2026
Washington won’t warn her mom before she wrestles a male again, so this Puyallup teen is suing to force it https://t.co/1huHl3eQYi
— Jason Rantz on Seattle Red (@jasonrantz) September 24, 2026
