Think the controversy surrounding the male Camas High cross-country runner who switched to the girls’ team ended when the season did?
Not even close.
OutKick has learned that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into Washington state’s Camas School District today to determine whether it violated Title IX.
A Camas High cross country runner, who switched from the boys team to the girls team midseason, stands at the start line of a girls race in at the Nike Hole in the Wall XC Invitational. (OutKick)
A CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER SWITCHED TO THE GIRLS TEAM MIDSEASON, PARENTS VOICE THEIR DISAPPROVAL AT MEET
As was first reported by 570-KVI, parents and members of the Camas High girls’ cross-country team alleged last month that the male runner entered a hotel room occupied by three female runners and took an ice bath in their bathroom while the team was traveling for an invitational meet. There are also allegations that the athlete sexually harassed female teammates, raising concerns about their privacy and safety.
Parents also accused the district of mishandling their complaints of sexual harassment. They alleged that an independent investigator failed to take steps to protect the girls and instead questioned whether they were “transphobic” or “hate trans people.”
This all comes on the heels of the Camas runner switching from the boys to the girls’ team in the middle of the season, which ended Saturday in the state finals. The runner finished 76th in a JV meet in his first race as a boy, but won a varsity meet upon switching to the girls’ team and prevented girls from advancing to the regional and state meets.
The runner’s presence on the girls’ team sparked three separate protests from female athletes — including about a dozen of his own teammates — who walked off the starting line after the gun sounded rather than compete against him. Elise Bierer of Battle Ground High ended her season by walking off the starting line at the district meet.
The consequences for Camas School District? They could be significant. According to the DOE, a Title IX violation can result in the loss of federal funding.
But Camas School District Superintendent John Anzalone isn’t particularly worried.
Cross country runner Elise Bierer broke down into tears after walking off the start line to protest having to race a boy running as a girl. (OutKick)
‘HEARTBROKEN’ WASHINGTON STATE SUPERINTENDENT SAYS NO CONSEQUENCES FOR GIRLS WHO PROTESTED TRANSGENDER RUNNER
In an interview with OutKick on Thursday, Anzalone said he was confident the district had handled the controversy appropriately and didn’t expect the federal investigation to uncover any violations.
“I don’t think there are going to be any violations,” said Anzalone, emphasizing that he trusts that his staff acted appropriately throughout this ordeal. “And if there were, and we made a misstep somewhere, we’ll move forward and correct that.”
This came after a back-and-forth regarding the ice baths, which Anzalone downplayed. Last month, Clark County Today quoted an anonymous Camas parent who said the following:
“[Biological male’s name redacted] entered a hotel room shared by three girls to take an ice bath,’’ the parent said. “The ice bath is a CHS tradition, but it is, of course, against school policy for boys to enter girls’ rooms and vice versa. Presumably, he stripped down to his shorts and sports bra like the girls do among themselves for the ice bath.’’
Anzalone, however, said the ice bath incident was “highly blown out of proportion” and that district administrators never felt anything inappropriate had occurred. He explained that the ice baths were a team tradition that district leadership hadn’t been aware of.
He also clarified that the male runner stayed in a separate hotel room with his mother, rather than sharing one with female teammates.
I pushed back on Anzalone’s characterization of the ice bath incident, pointing out that the tradition generally involves athletes of the same sex and that one girl reportedly felt uncomfortable enough to leave the room.
Anzalone said his understanding was that the girl left as soon as the transgender runner entered. He also reiterated that the district couldn’t prevent an activity it didn’t know was happening.
PARENTS SPEAK OUT ON THE INGRAHAM ANGLE AFTER GIRLS FORFEIT RACE OVER BIOLOGICAL MALE RUNNER
(From left to right) Female athletes Frances Staudt, Bailey Andersen and Sadie Sullivan sit before sharing their stories about competing against biological males and sharing locker rooms with them at Fairness in Girls’ Sports rally in Vancouver, Wash. (Derek Shook for OutKick)
But when I asked whether he understood why mixing genders in such a setting would concern parents and athletes, he acknowledged the point.
“Yeah, absolutely, absolutely,” Anzalone said. “I’m not denying that.”
He maintained, however, that his primary concern was ensuring such activities took place in an appropriate setting with adult supervision, regardless of gender.
In fact, Anzalone acknowledged that the district has since changed its protocols to ensure administrators are aware of team traditions and that activities such as ice baths have adult supervision. The superintendent also said he wouldn’t necessarily have supported ice baths in hotel rooms in the first place, regardless of the athletes’ genders.
But the ice bath controversy was hardly the only source of frustration for the girls on the team.
When I asked Anzalone whether he would have handled anything differently, given the protests, the athletes who quit and the turmoil surrounding the program, he acknowledged that the district might have done more to make every student feel supported. He compared the situation to a parent with multiple children, one of whom is going through a particularly difficult time.
“If you have multiple children and one is going through something really serious, you kind of feel like, oh man, am I neglecting the other kids?” Anzalone said. “We want to make sure that we’re not doing that. And if we did make those missteps, I know that, at least at the school level, they’re working to make sure they correct that.”
Anzalone described the situation as a “lose-lose,” explaining that supporting one group of students could leave another feeling neglected.
“Trying to find that happy medium,” he said, “That’s not easy to do.”
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Anzalone said the controversy has largely quieted down within Camas High School, adding that he hopes students can return to focusing on academics and athletics rather than the political debate surrounding the team.
“It’s still from day one, it breaks my heart that any of the students had to kind of take this activist role or decided to take that role,” he said.
The superintendent also said he would cooperate fully with the Department of Education’s investigation and provide whatever documents federal officials request.
“If there’s more that comes out in this, that even I didn’t know, then I’ll be happy to either answer to it, be accountable to it or change course if necessary,” Anzalone said.
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The cross-country season may be finished. But for Camas School District, the scrutiny is far from over.