News and Commentary

Boys Competing With Girls Won Track Meets. The Girls Just Filed A Lawsuit In Federal Court.

Hank Berrien
Boys Competing With Girls Won Track Meets. The Girls Just Filed A Lawsuit In Federal Court.
Photo by Peter Dazeley/GettyImages

On Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed in federal court by three high school girls and their mothers against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), which has permitted boys to compete in events and win awards that would otherwise have gone to girls.

Selina Soule, Alanna Smith, and Chelsea Mitchell, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), were denied opportunities to compete at higher levels as boys took home the prizes. CIAC’s policy allowed two males to compete in girls’ athletic competitions beginning in the 2017 track season. Those boys have taken 15 women’s state championship titles (titles held in 2016 by nine different Connecticut girls) and have taken more than 85 opportunities to participate in higher level competitions from female track athletes in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons alone.

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