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In November, 130 congressional Democrats signed an amicus brief supporting two transgender athletes who are plaintiffs in a pair of lawsuits the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing. The lawsuits challenged and blocked state laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibited biological males from participating in women’s and girls’ sports. Supreme Court justices will review the cases, beginning with oral arguments on January 13.
One of the plaintiffs in those cases, a transgender teenager from West Virginia, has been accused of allegedly sexually harassing a former teammate and using intimidation tactics against a female opponent, Pak Gazette Digital reported Tuesday.
Pak Gazette Digital has contacted the offices of some Democrats who signed the brief to ask if they stand behind their signatures, in light of the allegations. Pak Gazette Digital has not received any response.
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Top Democratic lawmakers who signed an amicus brief to support trans athletes in an upcoming SCOTUS review include Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Sen. Alex Padilla, Sen. Adam Schiff, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Alexadria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Hakeen Jeffries, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Pete Aguilar and Rep. Jasmine Crockett. (Courtesy of House.Gov, Senate.gov, Congress.gov)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffires, D-N.Y.; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas; Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.; Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Sen. Jeff Merkely, D-Ore., are among the lawmakers who signed the amicus curiae brief and have not responded to Pak Gazette Digital’s request for comment.
The 130-member coalition has come under scrutiny on social media since the allegations came to light.
Erika Donalds, the wife of Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., named the 130 members in an X post on Tuesday, citing the allegations.
The conservative advocacy group, The American Principles Project, similarly condemned all 130 members amid the recent allegations, in an X post on Tuesday.
“130 Congressional Democrats are urging SCOTUS to side with male athletes in a legal battle over men in women’s sports. A male athlete at the center of the case is accused of sexually harassing and intimidating his female teammates in the locker room. Why does the left continue to die on this hill?” the organization wrote.
The amicus curiae brief urged Supreme Court justices to side with the two transgender plaintiffs, arguing that “categorical bans, like those in West Virginia and Idaho, undermine those protections and the ability of transgender students to be part of their school community.”
Hirono wrote in an announcement of the report in November: “All students deserve equal access to opportunities in schools, whether in the classroom, on the playing field, or in other settings. No student should be discriminated against because of their identity.
“A categorical ban on transgender students participating in sports not only harms these students, but also subjects women and girls to harassment and discrimination, and leads to the policing of children’s bodies. This contradicts the very purpose of Title IX: to end discrimination in federally funded educational programs. These bans are blatant discrimination, and the Court should say so.”
Two West Virginia students and their families came forward with the allegations against one of the trans plaintiffs ahead of oral arguments in the case next week. The trans athlete is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Pak Gazette Digital is not revealing the name of the trans athlete because he is a minor.
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Bridgeport High School student Adaleia Cross, a former track teammate of the trans athlete when they were both at Bridgeport Middle School, alleges that the trans athlete made comments to her that constituted sexual harassment in the girls’ locker room. Cross, who is a year older than the trans athlete, said he quit the track team at Bridgeport High School last year as a sophomore to avoid sharing a locker room with the trans athlete again once he reached high school.
Cross’s mother, Abby, told Pak Gazette Digital what the trans athlete allegedly said to her daughter when they shared the girls’ locker room during the 2022-23 school year. Adaleia was in eighth grade and the trans athlete was in seventh.
“When Adaleia first told us, she told us that [the trans athlete] “I was telling her and other girls my b—,” Abby Cross alleged.[The trans athlete] I was telling him, approaching him and saying: ‘I’m going to put my p— in your p—- and also in your a–‘. At different times [the trans athlete] “I was telling him these things.”
The mother said the comments were reported to the school.
The ACLU has responded to the Cross family’s allegations.
“Our client and her mother deny these allegations and the school district investigated the allegations reported to the school by AC and found them to be unfounded. We remain committed to upholding the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment, free from harassment and discrimination,” reads an ACLU statement provided to Pak Gazette Digital.
The Cross family’s attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) responded to the ACLU’s statement.
“Our client has sworn under oath and under penalty of perjury in numerous cases regarding the events that took place between her and the male athlete. As a result of the situation, [Cross] “He had to completely step away from the sport he loved and sacrifice a key element of his school experience to protect himself,” read an ADF statement provided to Pak Gazette Digital.
ADF is also representing the state of West Virginia against the trans athlete in the case that will be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
The ACLU has not responded to the ADF’s response.
The Cross family said that when they reported the alleged harassment to the school, as far as they knew, nothing was done to reprimand the trans athlete.
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West Virginia Teen Adaleia Cross (Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom)
“They told me they would do a full investigation into what I told them,” Adaleia said. “And then all of a sudden it was like nothing else was happening, it was already done, and it seemed like they didn’t think of anything because they didn’t talk to us about it at all, they just left it there and didn’t tell us anything else, so it just seemed like, well, it’s done.”
His father, Holden Cross, said: “We received no response from the school after submitting the report.”
Pak Gazette Digital made repeated requests to the ACLU and the Harrison County School District, which oversees Bridgeport Middle School and Bridgeport High School, seeking documentation related to the school’s investigation and clarification on whether an investigation occurred and, if so, why only the Cross family was not notified of the results. Those requests have not been met.
Meanwhile, former Lincoln Middle School girls track runner Emmy Salerno alleges that the trans athlete used “intimidation tactics” against her after Salerno refused to compete against the trans athlete during an event in the spring 2024 season.
Salerno’s protest occurred on April 18, 2024, when she and the trans athlete were in eighth grade. Salerno, along with four other girls, refused to compete in the women’s shot put competition that day at a local competition. Salerno claims her team was disqualified from the next meet and then began facing intimidating looks from the trans athlete at public events.
“After we went out, there was an immediate personality change. He didn’t want to talk to me. He just wanted to look at me and look down,” Salerno told Pak Gazette Digital.
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Salerno also provided Pak Gazette Digital with a screenshot of a Snapchat post, which appeared to have been sent by the trans athlete, showing a photo of Salerno with a caption that reads, “Remember she has more testosterone than me.”
Salerno said there was an incident where the trans athlete followed her while they were at a local basketball game, giving her intimidating looks, and Salerno was concerned that the trans athlete would try to “fight” her.
“At the basketball game, when he followed me around, I thought, ‘Is he going to try to fight me?'” Salerno said. “‘Are you going to try to sneak up behind me and hit me?'”
Salerno and his father say they believe the stares, following patterns and social media posts were “intimidation tactics” and that there have been “persistent discomforts” stemming from the situation.
“I’ve always tried to avoid him everywhere I went,” Salerno added.
The ACLU has not responded to Pak Gazette Digital’s request for a response to Salerno’s allegations.
Salerno said she avoided competing against the trans athlete the following season, but instead of making a public outcry, she simply told her coach not to include her in the lineup for meets against the trans athlete to avoid a team penalty.
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Salerno claims she also heard other girls in the community talk about sexual harassment allegations made by Cross against the trans athlete. Salerno said she has never been in a locker room or bathroom with the trans athlete.
“During track season, this is talked about more,” Salerno said of the sexual harassment allegations. “I heard at my school that people were talking about it.”
