NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
In November, 130 congressional Democrats signed an amicus brief supporting two transgender athletes who are plaintiffs in two lawsuits that the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing. The lawsuits challenged and blocked state laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibited biological males from playing girls’ and women’s sports. Supreme Court justices are expected to review the cases, beginning with oral arguments on Jan. 13.
One of the plaintiffs in the cases, a transgender teenager from West Virginia, was charged with allegedly sexually harassing a former teammate and using intimidation tactics against a female opponent, PK Press Club Digital reported Tuesday.
PK Press Club Digital contacted the offices of some Democrats who signed the brief to ask if they support their signing, in light of the allegations. PK Press Club Digital received no response.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Among the top Democratic lawmakers who signed an amicus brief to support trans athletes in an upcoming SCOTUS review are 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.; Senator Adam Schiff, Democrat of California; Representative Jasmine Crockett, Democrat of 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, Democrat of Hawaii, Sen. Edward Markey, Democrat of Mass., and Sen. Jeff Merkely, Democrat of Oregon, are among the lawmakers who signed the amicus brief and did not respond to PK Press Club Digital’s request for comment.
The 130-member coalition has been in the spotlight on social media since the allegations came to light.
Erika Donalds, the wife of Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fl., named the 130 members in an X-rated post Tuesday, citing the allegations.
The conservative advocacy group, The American Principles Project, also condemned the 130 members amid the recent allegations, in an article 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 teammates in the locker room. Why does the left keep dying on this hill?” »wrote the organization.
The amicus brief urged the Supreme Court justices to side with the two transgender plaintiffs, arguing that “categorical bans, like those in West Virginia and Idaho, undermine these protections and the ability of transgender students to be part of their school communities.” »
Hirono wrote in a November announcement of the brief: “All students deserve equal access to opportunities in schools, whether in the classroom, on the playground or in other settings. No student should be discriminated against based on who they are.
“A categorical ban on transgender students participating in sports not only harms those students, but also subjects women and girls to harassment and discrimination, and leads to the surveillance of children’s bodies. This contradicts the very purpose of Title IX: to end discrimination in federally funded educational programs. These bans constitute blatant discrimination, and the Court should say so.”
Two West Virginia students and their families outlined 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). PK Press Club Digital is not releasing the name of the trans athlete because the individual is a minor.
“SAVES WOMEN’S SPORTS” CULTURAL WAR TIMELINE 2025 – THE YEAR THE TIDES TURNED
Bridgeport High School student Adaleia Cross, who is a former track teammate of the trans athlete when both were at Bridgeport Middle School, alleges that the trans athlete made comments to her that constitute sexual harassment in the girls’ locker room. Cross, who is a year older than the trans athlete, said she quit the Bridgeport High School track team last year as a sophomore to avoid sharing a locker room with the trans athlete again once that athlete reached high school.
Cross’ mother, Abby, told PK Press Club 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, ‘That’s my shit,’ Abby Cross said.”[The trans athlete] he said, coming closer and saying: ‘I’m going to put my cock in your pussy—- and also in your a–.’ At different times [the trans athlete] told him these things. »
The mother said the comments were reported to the school.
The ACLU responded to the Cross family’s allegations.
“Our client and his mother deny these allegations and the school district has investigated the allegations reported to the school by AC and found them to be unsubstantiated. We remain committed to defending the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment free from harassment and discrimination,” read a statement from the ACLU provided to PK Press Club Digital.
The Cross family’s attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) responded to the ACLU’s statement.
“Our client has been sworn under oath and under penalty of perjury in numerous cases regarding the events that took place between her and the male athlete. Due to the situation, [Cross] had to completely walk away from the sport she loved and sacrifice a key part of her school experience to protect herself,” read a statement from the ADF provided to PK Press Club Digital.
ADF is also representing the state of West Virginia against the trans athlete in the case expected to be considered by the Supreme Court.
The ACLU did not respond to the ADF’s response.
The Cross family said that to their knowledge, when they reported the alleged harassment to the school, nothing was done to reprimand the trans athlete.
‘SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS’ LEGAL DEFENSE RESPONDS AFTER 130 CONGRESS DEMS BRING BACK TRANS ATHLETES IN BATTLE OF SCOTUS
Adaleia Cross, a teenager from West Virginia (Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom)
“They told me they would thoroughly investigate what I told them,” Adaleia said. “And then all of a sudden it was like nothing else was happening, it was done, and it seemed like they didn’t think anything of it because they didn’t tell us about it at all, they just left it there and didn’t tell us anything else, so it just felt like yeah, it’s done.”
His father, Holden Cross, said: “We received no response from the school after the report was filed. »
PK Press Club Digital has made repeated requests to the ACLU and the Harrison County School District, which oversees Bridgeport Middle School and Bridgeport High School, for documents related to the school’s investigation and for clarification on whether an investigation took place and, if so, why only the Cross family was not informed of the results. These demands were not met.
Meanwhile, former Lincoln Middle School girls’ track and field runner Emmy Salerno alleges the trans athlete used “intimidation tactics” against her after Salerno refused to compete against the trans athlete in a spring 2024 event.
The Salerno protest took place 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 girls’ shot put competition that day at a local meet. Salerno claims his team was disqualified from the next competition, and then began facing intimidating stares from the trans athlete at public events.
“After we left, there was an immediate personality change. He wouldn’t talk to me. He just wanted to look at me and look at me,” Salerno told PK Press Club Digital.
SUPER BOWL CHAMPION’S COACH AND OLYMPIANS SIGN AMICUS MEMORANDUM SUPPORTING PROTECTION OF FEMALE ATHLETES IN SCOTUS CASE
Salerno also provided PK Press Club 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 read: “Reminder she has more testosterone than me.”
Salerno said there was an incident in which the trans athlete followed her while they attended a local basketball game, giving her intimidating looks, and Salerno feared the trans athlete would try to “fight” her.
“At the basketball game, when he was following me around, I was like, ‘Is he going to try to fight me?'” Salerno said. “‘Is he 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 was “ongoing discomfort” stemming from the situation.
“I always tried to avoid him wherever I went,” Salerno added.
The ACLU did not respond to PK Press Club Digital’s request to respond to Salerno’s allegations.
Salerno said she avoided competing against the trans athlete the following season, but rather than protest publicly, she simply told her coach not to include her in the lineup for meets against the trans athlete to avoid a penalty to the team.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
Salerno says she also heard from other girls in the community about the sexual harassment allegations Cross made against the trans athlete. Salerno said she herself was never in a locker room or bathroom with the trans athlete.
“During the athletics season, it’s talked about more,” Salerno said of the sexual harassment allegations. “I heard from my school that people were talking about it.”
