Washington high school girl walks off starting line alone in protest of trans runner, ending her season

Camas, Wash. – There was no group to stand with her in solidarity. No teammate to lean on. Elise Bierer, a sophomore at Battle Ground High, made a solitary stand Wednesday during the Greater St. Helens League District Meet, walking off the starting line alone to protest competing against a transgender runner. Her action ended her cross country season but affirmed a principle she had discussed with her mother for years.

As the starting gun fired for the women's varsity race, Bierer walked off the line toward her mother, Sheona, who embraced her tearful daughter. This was not how Elise, the second-fastest female runner on her team, had envisioned her season ending when the school year began. She had likely secured a spot in the regional championships had she participated.

Prepared for protest

Sheona Bierer revealed that her daughter had been anticipating this moment for years. Before she entered high school — she's a sophomore — I told her that it's a real possibility that this could come into play, that she might be forced to race against a male. When we talked about that, she said if that were to happen, she would stand up for what was right and just not compete, she explained.

Team pressure

The protest came after a complicated week for Battle Ground's runners. Two Tuesdays prior, Bierer and teammates had refused to compete against Camas in a dual meet. However, for the district meet, Sheona claimed the girls were pressured to run in the junior varsity race to maximize the team's chances of advancing to regionals.

Only five Battle Ground runners showed up for the varsity race, compared to seven from each of the other three teams. Elise had reportedly informed Battle Ground coach Patricia Tester of her plans but feared being relegated to JV if she discussed it beforehand. Attempts to get comment from Coach Tester after the race were unsuccessful.

Broader context

The Camas runner, who began the season competing against boys, finished second in Wednesday's race, officially displacing a biological girl from advancing to regionals. Earlier in the season, he had won a varsity dual meet despite placing 76th among boys just weeks prior.

Eight days before the district meet, approximately a dozen Camas female runners, including Holly Burns, had walked off the starting line in protest. Burns later spoke at a rally supporting Initiative 638, a November ballot measure that would require K-12 athletes to compete according to their sex at birth.