Washington must protect girls’ sports after Elise Bierer walked away
On Nov. 3, Washington voters decide whether Initiative 638 will require K-12 athletes to compete according to sex at birth.
Girls’ races belong to girls. OutKick reports that Battle Ground sophomore Elise Bierer, her team’s second-fastest female runner, gave up her season on Oct. 21 rather than race a male. When the gun went off for the girls' varsity race at the Greater St. Helens League district meet in Camas, Elise Bierer walked off the line toward her mother, Sheona, who embraced her1.
Sheona Bierer told OutKick that, before Elise entered high school, she warned her daughter she might have to race a male. Sheona recalled Elise saying, “When we talked about that, she said if that were to happen, she would stand up for what was right and just not compete.”1 Who left her there?
“When we talked about that, she said if that were to happen, she would stand up for what was right and just not compete”
A male runner took a girl’s regional place
The male runner from Camas High School began this season in boys' junior varsity, ranked 76th, Ari Hoffman reported2. He also helped carry Camas to first place in the girls' varsity team results1.
Elise was the second-fastest girl on her team1. Walking off brought her season to an end, as Fox News put it3. One girl lost her regional place to a boy, and another gave up her season rather than accept the race.
Girls faced pressure while coaches stayed silent
Sheona Bierer told OutKick that Battle Ground girls who objected to racing the male athlete were pressured into the junior varsity race instead, a move that would protect the varsity team's chance to advance2. Elise hid her plan from coach Patricia Tester, her mother said, for fear of being sent down to JV. Other Battle Ground girls had planned to walk off with her, but those plans changed before the race1.
Only five Battle Ground runners showed up for the girls' varsity race, while the other three teams had seven apiece1. When Elise stepped away, Battle Ground was left without the five finishers it needed to record a team score2.
After the race, OutKick's Matt Calkins tried to ask Tester about Elise and about the exodus of female runners from her team, and she wouldn't even offer a no comment1. If this race was fair to girls, why couldn't the adults running it answer one question about the girl who protested?
A mother stood with her daughter
Sheona Bierer spoke for a daughter who didn't feel comfortable being interviewed1. She had prepared Elise for this day years earlier, and on race day she was the one waiting when Elise left the line.
Elise has been running since sixth grade, her mother said, but she would not return to the team next year if she had to race the Camas boy again1.
Initiative 638 would restore sex-based teams
Initiative 638, a Washington ballot measure, would require K-12 athletes to compete according to their sex at birth, OutKick reports. Girls are already making the case for it with their feet. Eight days before the district meet, about a dozen of the Camas runner's own female teammates walked off the starting line. One of them, Holly Burns, spoke at a pre-meet rally attended by scores of Initiative 638 supporters. Burns said the girls first doubted it would matter: "It's not like it was going to change anything1." Elise had already sat out Battle Ground's Oct. 13 dual meet against Camas, Hoffman reported2.
Teenage girls gave up two races in eight days to settle a question the adults in charge refused to answer. Every Washington candidate, school board member and coach owes parents three answers.
Should a boy who ranked 76th among boys take a girl's regional place, yes or no? Should a girl have to hide her conscience from her coach to keep her varsity spot, yes or no?
Will you support Initiative 638, yes or no? Elise Bierer gave her answer at the starting line, and Washington voters give theirs on Initiative 638.
Sources
- Washington high school girl walks off starting line alone in protest of trans runner, ending her season | OutKick
- @thehoffather on X, 2026-10-22: NEW: Washington high school sophomore Elise Bierer, a Battle Ground High School runner, walked off the starting line alone at a district cross-country championship Wednesday rather than compete against a boy, sacrificing her opportunity to advance in the pos, 2026-10-22
- @FoxNews on X, 2026-10-22: WATCH: A Washington high school runner walks away from a chance to advance to regionals, then breaks down in tears as her mother rushes to embrace her. Battle Ground High School sophomore Elise Bierer steps off the starting line at a district cross-country meet,, 2026-10-22
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