Oregon teens who protested trans athlete at medal podium settle free speech lawsuit vs sports league
Former Oregon high school athletes Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard came to a settlement with the state's high school sports league, the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), in a lawsuit over free speech violations.
Anderson and Eckard stepped down from a state championship medal podium on the last day of May to protest a transgender competitor, and alleged they were forced out of the podium photo and not given their medals in response.
"I asked after the medal ceremony concluded, we went into kind of a tunnel that leads you back out to the audience, and I asked one of the officials, ‘Hey, are we going to get our medals?’ and she said they'd be shipped to our school. And then they were never shipped to our school," Anderson previously told Fox News Digital.
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The two teens filed a free speech lawsuit against the OSAA in July, and claim their medals were then sent to their law firm, America First Policy Institute (AFPI).
Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Youlee Yim You denied the OSAA's motion to strike a portion of the lawsuit that highlighted what forms of political speech the league does allow, including Black Lives Matter and pro-LGBTQ pride messaging, which was a key point in the plaintiffs' argument.
On Tuesday, their AFPI attorneys agreed with OSAA to dismiss the lawsuit by agreement of the parties. A separate lawsuit between the two parties over Title IX violations is still ongoing.
"Counsel for Plaintiffs Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard certify that they have conferred by telephone in good faith with counsel for Defendant OSAA regarding this motion to dismiss. Counsel for Defendant has represented that Defendant does not oppose this motion," read a court filing obtained by Fox News Digital.
AFPI Director of Litigation Andrew Zimmitti said that the case achieved what it set out to do, in bringing awareness to the treatment of Anderson, Eckard and other students in Oregon who express similar views.
"This case did exactly what it needed to do," Zimmitti said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "We protected these young women, we exposed how officials retaliated against them for expressing the truth, and we elevated their story to a national audience. Now we continue the real fight — restoring Title IX and defending girls’ sports across America."
AFPI Chief Legal Affairs Officer Leigh Ann O'Neill called the outcome a "victory."
"We are thrilled with this major victory. This lawsuit accomplished exactly what we intended: ensuring Alexa and Reese’s voices were heard and restoring what they were owed—the medals they earned and their First Amendment right to peacefully express their views. But this is only the beginning. Our remaining Oregon lawsuit against Oregon officials now becomes our central focus, and we will not relent until the sex-based rights of women and girls are fully protected and officials who presume they can redefine basic terms like "sex" are held to account," O'Neil told Fox News Digital.
"Teen girls should not be forced to carry the burden of defending the rights guaranteed to them under Title IX. AFPI strongly supports the bold, common-sense leadership President Trump and Secretary McMahon have shown on this issue, and we are committed to advancing the protections their leadership has helped put in motion."
Anderson said, "We spoke up because what was happening wasn’t fair. AFPI stood with us from day one, made sure our story was heard, helped bring attention to this issue and are continuing to help us fight for protections in girls’ sports. I’m grateful for everyone who supported us."
Eckard added, "Getting to stand up and say, ‘I don’t approve of this,’ is a basic right everyone learns in school. It was appalling that an actual school event tried to silence us."
Anderson and Eckard were honored at the 2025 Fox Nation Patriot Awards for their protest and lawsuit, where they were given the Most Valuable Patriot award and presented with their state championship medals.
"It's definitely frustrating that we didn't get them in the moment… but it kinda is what it is at this point. There's more important things that we're fighting for," Anderson previously said. "Of course I wanted that medal, I worked super hard to get to that place where I was on the podium… but also a part of me knew that it was part of the sacrifice that I was making when I stepped off that podium, and there were going to be consequences."
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