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Alexa Anderson, the former high school track athlete in Oregon who made waves when she refused to share a podium with a transgender competitor earlier this year, had a message for girls still experiencing the same issues on Monday.
While polls suggest that most Americans believe women should only compete against women in sports, not all states have complied with President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from competing against the gender with which they identify.
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Alexa Anderson is a former Oregon high school women’s track star and current women’s athlete at the University of South Alabama. (Courtesy of Alexa Anderson)
Anderson appeared on “America’s Newsroom” on Monday and said that both girls and women need to take a stand.
“My message is that it’s not fair and it’s not safe, and we have to stand up for ourselves as the girls affected by this issue,” she told Pak Gazette Channel’s Dana Perino. “It’s our job to stand up and tell the people in charge that we don’t agree with this and that we want change.”
Anderson and her teammate, Reese Eckard, decided to step off the podium after finishing third at the Oregon high jump state championships. The moment went viral on the Internet and helped intensify attention on transgender athletes competing against women.
Oregon women’s track and field athletes Reese Eckard and Alexa Anderson do not stand on a medal podium alongside a trans opponent. (Courtesy of America First Policy Institute)
TRACK STAR WHO PROTESTED TRANS ATHLETE ALLEGES HE WAS NOT GIVEN HER MEDAL FOR MONTHS UNTIL SHE FILED LAWSUIT
Anderson recently detailed to Pak Gazette Digital the death threats she received and the struggle to even get her medal from the Oregon School Activities Association.
While speaking with Perino, Anderson recalled the moment he decided to take a stand.
“It was a very stressful time,” Anderson said. “There were a lot of eyes on us. But in my heart, I knew that allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports is not fair and I had to stand up for that for all the girls who have been affected by this.”
He added that he wouldn’t have done anything differently.
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“While there has been a lot of negative talk and insults, I have been overwhelmed by the support and kindness of so many people and it has been worth it. I just hope we make a change,” she said.
