A group of teen girls in Oregon has decided to sue their state for its laws that allow biological men to compete in women’s sports, citing conservative Christian activist Riley Gaines as their primary inspiration for filing their lawsuit, which is backed by the America First Policy Institute, a legal advocacy group that called the suit a means of holding “state officials accountable.”
For background, on July 9, 2025, Fox News interviewed Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter, two Oregon teens who reportedly refused to compete against a transgender athlete in a track and field competition in April. Eischen and Carpenter are part of a group that sued their state over its policies after conservative activist and athlete Riley Gaines reached out to them.
Speaking to Fox News reporter Jackson Thompson, Carpenter said that the feud between Gaines and fellow athlete Simone Biles had been an inspiration to file the lawsuit against the state, saying, “I think especially when Riley Gaines and Simone Biles, and that whole thing happened and kind of seeing how that played out and how the public responded, I think that was encouraging to see how many people are on the side of protecting women’s sports.”
Moreover, Eischen said that she was struck by the support that Riley Gaines got in her online feud with Biles over transgender athletes, saying, “All of the comments on Simone’s post [calling Gaines ‘truly sick’] were very negative to her, I saw people that commented on it, and I liked it.” She added, “But there was a lot of shock that she had even said that, and disappointment,” Eischen said.
Continuing, Carpenter said that she believes that most Americans “don’t pay as much attention to this issue, and I think that with the whole Simone Biles and Riley Gaines, with all that fallout, that definitely brought some more attention.” She added, “It kept it in the news cycle, it kept people looking and saying ‘hey, there’s this issue in girls’ sports that’s happening a lot more than people think it is.'”
In addition, Eischen reflected on choosing to forfeit from a track and field event rather than compete against a biological male athlete, saying, “My experience at the Chehalem track meet and scratching myself from the meet was traumatic, something I never imagined ever having to do.” Carpenter added, “It was emotionally traumatic trying to know what I should do and how I should respond to competing with [the trans athlete].”
In a statement shared with Fox, the America First Policy Institute, which is leading the girls’ lawsuit, said, “America First Policy Institute is proud to stand with brave young women in Oregon and to file this lawsuit to hold state officials accountable for violating their sex-based rights under Title IX.
Continuing, the organization said, “Female athletes deserve fairness, safety, and equal opportunity—not a system that sacrifices their rights in favor of radical ideology.” Their statement added, “This case is about restoring the original promise of Title IX and sending a clear message: the law still protects women.”
Featured image credit: Riley Gaines via X