Female wrestler sues after alleged sexual assault by biological male opponent, inaction by coaches, officials 

After more than a decade of wrestling, 15-year-old Kallie Keeler says she surrendered a match after being sexually assaulted by a biological male opponent who identifies as female. Now she is suing the state of Washington and school officials, alleging they failed to protect her.

“Washington state officials insist on pushing gender ideology at all costs – even at the expense of girls’ safety and privacy,” Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Kate Anderson said in a statement. “Our client’s story is proof of the grave harms caused by lying about biology.”

Anderson, director of the legal group’s Center for Parental Rights, is representing Keeler and her mother, Stephanie Brown, and is asking the court to require changes to state policies governing girls’ sports.

“No girl should have to unknowingly wrestle a boy,” Anderson said. “And at a minimum, parents must be notified before their daughters are matched against male opponents.”

Keeler has wrestled since she was 4 years old. But last December, she says she experienced something unlike anything she had encountered before. According to a lawsuit filed by Alliance Defending Freedom, her opponent, a biological male whose sex was not disclosed to Keeler, groped her and penetrated her with his right hand for several seconds while holding her down on the mat.

“As this was happening, she first tried to push the wrestler off her, but she wasn’t able to,” the complaint states. “Her reaction is visible in the video of the match. It was an incredibly offensive act and caused intense physical discomfort that persisted following the assault.”

Her mother was recording the match and can be heard saying, “I don’t know what she said or why her face looks like that.”

After the match, which was at a girls’ wrestline tournament, a coach from another team told Keeler that her opponent was a biological male. The alleged act – known in wrestling as an “oil check” – can result in penalties, disqualification and criminal charges, according to the lawsuit. Washington law defines “sexual intercourse” as “any penetration of the vagina or anus however slight, by an object” and states that a person commits rape when sexual intercourse occurs without consent, according to the complaint.

Adding insult to injury, Keeler’s opponent placed third overall, moving her to fourth place in the standings.

Two days after the incident, Brown reported it in writing and submitted video evidence to coaches and school officials, according to the lawsuit. The complaint alleges no action was taken for nearly two months. Only after media coverage brought attention to the case did the Puyallup School District notify law enforcement. Even then, the Tacoma-area school system informed Keeler that its policy would remain unchanged and that she could again be matched against a biological male without prior disclosure, according to the complaint.

Keeler, who comes from a family of wrestlers, said she wants to continue in the sport but is considering transferring out of Rogers High School to distance herself from the publicity and attention surrounding the case.

“The main reason that I want to switch schools for wrestling is to just try and get like a clean slate and start over,” she told Brandi Kruse on unDivided.

Alliance Defending Freedom said it took the case because it believes state policies have failed to protect female athletes.

“We got involved because this is a situation that never should have happened,” Anderson said on unDivided. “Washington state has a policy not to protect women in their sports and that policy is politically driven, and it’s dangerous for women and girls.

“We’re seeing girls need to have an opportunity to participate in their sports that they love, to do so with fairness, but also with safety. Something like this never should have happened, and yet the school district assigned Kallie to be wrestling against a male athlete and didn’t tell her or her mother.”

The lawsuit argues that policies allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports are based on falsehoods about biological sex.

“Lies hurt people – in this case, girls,” the complaint states. “Enforcing the lie that boys can be girls, Washington lets boys take girls’ sports and privacy, and, in this case, sexually assault a girl during her own wrestling match – as her mother watched in disbelief.”

Author J.K. Rowling, known for her criticism of transgender ideology and her advocacy for women’s sex-based rights, called the case “appalling,” in an X post.

“I want those who champion men in women’s sport to explain why they’re happy to put girls at risk like this,” she wrote.

(Image credit: Alliance Defending Freedom)