Washington female wrestler appeals Title IX case over alleged assault by trans opponent to Ninth Circuit
Teen Wrestler Seeks Court Protection After Alleged Assault in Washington High‑School Match
In a case that has drawn national attention to the ongoing debate over transgender athletes in girls’ sports, a teenage wrestler from Puyallup, Washington, has asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to bar her from competing against any biological male athletes for the upcoming season. The move comes after a December 2025 wrestling match at Emerald Ridge High School that the family says ended in an alleged sexual assault by a trans competitor.
The athlete, identified in court documents as “K.M.K.” – the family’s private name – is believed to be Kallie Keeler, a senior at Rogers High School in the South Puget Sound League. Her mother, Stephanie Brown, says that when the match took place on Dec. 6, 2025, she was not informed that her daughter would face a biological male who identifies as a trans woman. Brown says the coach, Lucia Scott, was unaware of the opponent’s biological sex until after the fact.
“From that point, I kind of took the lead in talking to the coaches, and I made sure to send them an email and let them know what happened and ask them to kind of handle the situation,” Brown told a reporter. “They assured me they were looking into it. They assured me it was going to be handled. They passed it off to all these people, and then we just never heard anything else about it, like nothing further until we started pressing them.”
During the match, the opponent allegedly forced her fingers under K.M.K.’s clothing and penetrated her genital area for several seconds, the complaint alleges. The teenager’s parents claim that no warning was provided and that the incident was not investigated thoroughly by the school. Brown says the coach initially responded that “That’s wrestling,” while school officials later admitted that the opponent likely touched K.M.K.’s private parts “with force,” but the district court did not characterize the incident as an assault.
The school district’s response was delayed. According to the lawsuit, principal Jason Smith notified a school resource officer on Jan. 30, 2026, and the district formally reported the matter to state child‑welfare authorities on Feb. 12, 2026 – 55 days after the match. The family says that the delay left them uncertain about whether any action would be taken.
The family’s legal team, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in late August. The complaint seeks to compel Washington’s state athletic association – the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) – and the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to adopt a policy that would require parents to know in advance whether a biological male will compete against their daughters in girls’ sports. It also asks the court to allow the athlete to opt out of any future matches with biological males without jeopardizing her season.
The case was originally filed in the U.S. District Court. On Aug. 23, 2026, U.S. District Judge David Castillo denied K.M.K.’s request for a preliminary injunction. When the family asked the court again on Aug. 31 to protect K.M.K. while the appeal moved forward, Castillo again denied the request. The family, along with ADF, then appealed to the Ninth Circuit on Aug. 25, asking the appellate court to issue an emergency order by Sept. 25.
The lawsuit cites several recent Supreme Court decisions that relate to the question of whether biological differences create safety risks for female athletes. The plaintiffs argue that the West Virginia v. B.P.J. ruling, which recognized that biological differences can pose serious safety risks in girls’ contact sports, supports their claim that K.M.K. could be harmed again if she is forced to wrestle a biological male. They also argue that the policy of allowing trans athletes to compete against girls violates the family’s constitutional parental rights under Mirabelli v. Bonta and denies K.M.K. equal athletic opportunities under Title IX.
“The decision to file the lawsuit was because the schools didn’t take our report of what happened to her seriously,” Brown said. “They didn’t do anything to investigate it, correct it. They didn’t even keep in contact with me.”
The court’s denial of the preliminary injunction was based on the argument that K.M.K. had not demonstrated a sufficiently likely risk of harm to justify emergency relief. The Ninth Circuit will consider whether the injury and the school’s delay in reporting create a foreseeable risk of repeated assault, and whether the family’s constitutional and Title IX claims are viable.
The WIAA, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Puyallup School District have all declined to comment on the appeal. The case is currently pending before the Ninth Circuit, which is expected to rule on the emergency motion within the next few weeks.
The lawsuit is part of a broader national conversation over transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ sports. Earlier this week, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against California officials over policies that allow trans athletes to compete according to their gender identity. That decision leaves the question of whether such policies are compatible with federal funding open for further appeal.
While the case is unresolved, Brown says the stakes are personal. “Without emergency intervention before wrestling season begins, I will be forced to choose between risking another matchup against a biological male and losing another season of the sport I have practiced since childhood.”
If the Ninth Circuit grants the emergency order, K.M.K. could be excluded from matches against biological males and may receive advance notice of any such match. The decision could also force Washington schools to revise policies governing the participation of trans athletes in girls’ sports, setting a precedent that could affect similar cases across the country.
