Oregon Teens Sue State Over Trans Athlete Laws, Inspired By Biles-Gaines Feud

Three teenage girls are suing the state of Oregon over laws that allow trans-identifying men to compete in women’s sports.

Two of the girls told Fox News they were inspired by the online fight between former Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and conservative activist Riley Gaines.

Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter refused to compete against a trans-identifying athlete at an Oregon track meet in April, Fox News reported. Gaines contacted the teenagers and recommended that they file a lawsuit against the state. Eischen and Carpenter told the outlet they were convinced by the social media fight between Gaines and Biles.

“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,” Carpenter told Fox News.

Eischen said she appreciated the negative response to Biles’ comments.

“All of the comments on Simone’s post were very negative to her, I saw people that commented on it, and I liked it. But there was a lot of shock that she had even said that, and disappointment,” Eischen told Fox News.

The fight began when Biles attacked Gaines on X seemingly out of the blue, calling her a “sore loser” and telling her to “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male,” The Daily Wire reported.

A few days later, following immense backlash, Biles posted an apology and then appeared to delete her X account. The account has since been restored.

America First Policy Institute filed the Title IX lawsuit filed the lawsuit on behalf of the teens.

“This case is a landmark federal challenge to a statewide policy that permits males to compete in K–12 girls’ sports based on nothing more than self-proclaimed gender identity,” AFPI said in a statement on its website. “That policy, enforced by the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), violates the plain language of Title IX and undermines decades of progress for female students and athletes.”

The lawsuit names the Oregon Department of Education, the OSAA, and Gov. Tina Kotek as defendants.

Gaines thanked AFPI for representing the teens.

“Simone Biles’ disparaging comments towards female athletes totally backfired,” Gaines said on social media. “She inadvertently inspired two high school girls in Oregon to sue the state after being forced to compete against a boy at their state championship meet. Poetic.”

Simone Biles' disparaging comments towards female athletes totally backfired.

She inadvertently inspired two high school girls in Oregon to sue the state after being forced to compete against a boy at their state championship meet.

Poetic.pic.twitter.com/ilLwLHgGNM

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) July 9, 2025

The lawsuit follows President Trump’s executive order banning men from women’s sports. The Department of Justice just announced a lawsuit against the state of California over alleged Title IX violations, in reference to keeping men out of women’s sports.

“When the law is clear but the government refuses to follow it, it’s up to citizens and the courts to restore balance,” AFPI said. “This fight is far from over.”