Lawyers for girl alleging sexual assault by trans wrestler fire back at Washington officials in SCOTUS appeal

A Washington high school wrestler who alleges she was sexually assaulted by a transgender opponent during a girls’ match is asking the Supreme Court to intervene before her next season begins, and her attorneys are firing back after the defendants tried to write off her claimed harm as "manufactured."

In an Oct. 15 filing, her attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom accused the three defendants, the Puyallup School District, Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, of shifting responsibility for providing those protections.

"Defendants’ briefs mostly point the finger at each other, trying to pass the buck for the harm inflicted," Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys wrote in an Oct. 15 reply supporting the girl, Kallie Keeler and her mother, Stephanie Brown.

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"Exit isn’t accommodation. It’s the injury, and Brown and K.M.K. are suffering it now," the attorneys added, rejecting the argument that withdrawing from competition adequately addresses the family’s concerns.

Keeler, identified in court as K.M.K., alleges a transgender opponent sexually assaulted her during a girls’ wrestling match in December 2025. Pierce County prosecutors declined to file criminal charges. Her family is seeking protection against being matched with male opponents while its lawsuit proceeds.

Washington state girls wrestler Kallie Keeler (Alliance Defending Freedom)

The reply follows opposition briefs from the Puyallup School District, Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

"The ‘irreparable’ nature of Applicants’ claimed harm is manufactured," the state argued, challenging the asserted emergency and likelihood of future injury. The statement addressed the justification for immediate court intervention, rather than characterizing the alleged assault as fabricated.

The district said Brown could decline matches without district-imposed penalties. It also cited supportive measures, an expedited school transfer and an ongoing independent Title IX investigation. The defendants raised concerns about their authority to control matchups, competition rules and other students’ privacy.

ADF countered that the defendants collectively control eligibility, participation and competition rules.

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"Defendants each disclaim full power, but in so doing, they ignore that together they hold it all," the reply states.

The attorneys also challenged the suggestion that the family should await the ordinary appeals process. The district’s appellate answering brief is due Nov. 19, three days after wrestling practices begin, according to its opposition and WIAA’s calendar. ADF said the extension was granted over the family’s objection.

Alongside its Title IX request, ADF outlined an alternative accommodation based on parental rights: Officials would withdraw Keeler, or notify her mother so she could withdraw her, when they know or have reason to know an opponent is male.

Under that proposal, Keeler would receive treatment comparable to the most favorably treated forfeiture allowed by the rules, such as a medical forfeiture. In a tournament, her opponent could advance while she continued in the applicable consolation bracket.

Washington state girls' wrestler Kallie Keeler (Alliance Defending Freedom)

"Her opponent advances, and she stays in the tournament," ADF wrote.

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The district court and Ninth Circuit previously denied temporary relief. The Supreme Court application remained pending Friday, with the docket listing the family’s reply but no ruling.

Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson's reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.