Washington education officials called a teenage wrestler’s asserted need for emergency Supreme Court relief “manufactured,” urging the justices to reject her request to avoid competing against transgender opponents after she alleged she was sexually assaulted by one during a match.
Attorneys for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Superintendent Chris Reykdal argued that the family had not established a likelihood of future injury requiring immediate intervention.
“The ‘irreparable’ nature of Applicants’ claimed harm is manufactured,” the state’s filing said. “Applicants have sought emergency relief three times despite there not being any true emergency.”
WASHINGTON FAMILY REQUESTS SCOTUS INJUNCTION AFTER DAUGHTER WAS ALLEGEDLY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY TRANS ATHLETE
The accusation concerned the family’s claim of future irreparable harm and the need for immediate court intervention.
The state’s response was one of three oppositions filed Tuesday in the case brought by Kallie Keeler, identified in court as K.M.K., and her mother, Stephanie Lynne Brown. Puyallup School District and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association also asked the Supreme Court to deny relief.
Keeler alleges a transgender opponent sexually assaulted her during a December 2025 girls’ wrestling match. Her family is seeking an injunction allowing her to return to wrestling without being matched against a male athlete, or protections allowing advance notice and an opportunity to opt out without penalty.
A district judge denied a preliminary injunction Aug. 23, and the Ninth Circuit denied emergency relief Sept. 25. The Supreme Court had not ruled on the application as of Tuesday evening.
FEMALE WRESTLER WHO WAS ALLEGEDLY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY TRANS ATHLETE OPENS UP ON WAGING TITLE IX LAWSUIT
Washington state girls wrestler Kallie Keeler (Alliance Defending Freedom)
The state’s attorneys pointed to the approximately six months between the match and the lawsuit, followed by another month before the family sought a preliminary injunction. They also argued the family’s asserted urgency shifted from the start of soccer season to the school year and then wrestling season, which begins in mid-November.
ADF senior counsel Hal Frampton previously told OutKick that Supreme Court intervention was necessary to secure protection before Keeler’s remaining high school seasons slip away.
“Our only avenue for relief in advance of wrestling season is the Supreme Court,” Frampton said.
The state also invoked an upcoming ballot measure as a reason for the justices to refrain from intervening. Washington voters will consider Initiative IL26-638 on Nov. 3. The measure would prohibit students it defines as biologically male from competing in designated female school athletic competitions and require healthcare providers to verify participants’ biological sex.
Separately, the state disputed the family’s parental-rights theory, arguing it would improperly allow parents to dictate rules for school athletics.
“But the Constitution does not entitle parents to bespoke athletic rules,” its attorneys wrote.
Puyallup School District defended its response to Keeler and disputed the premise that it had failed to offer accommodations.
Frampton previously accused officials of making “no effort to compromise.” The district’s filing cited a separate testing room, counseling offers, an independent investigation and expedited approval of Keeler’s transfer to Puyallup High School.
“It has provided all the relief it can,” the district’s attorneys wrote.
The district said its Title IX investigation of the alleged assault remained ongoing and unresolved. Pierce County prosecutors previously declined to charge Keeler’s opponent, citing their inability to prove third-degree rape beyond a reasonable doubt or overcome a consent defense under case law governing athletic contests.
The district also emphasized that Keeler could decline matches without additional consequences imposed by the district. That assurance does not eliminate a recorded forfeit or loss under National Federation of State High School Associations wrestling rules.
The distinction is central to the dispute: Keeler’s family seeks to avoid competitive penalties as well as district-imposed consequences. The district argued it cannot change national wrestling rules, control every tournament bracket or provide notice identifying another student’s transgender status.
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) offered a separate threshold defense, arguing Title IX does not apply to it because it is a private nonprofit association that receives no federal funding.
The association cited the Supreme Court’s 1999 NCAA v. Smith decision, which held that dues from federally funded members did not make the NCAA a recipient of federal financial assistance. Keeler’s attorneys have advanced a separate theory that the WIAA exercises controlling authority over federally funded schools’ athletic programs. The WIAA disputed that theory and argued it required further factual development.
The association also said Keeler had not applied for a hardship waiver concerning varsity eligibility following her transfer. That waiver process concerns transfer eligibility; it does not itself provide the assurance against transgender matchups sought in the emergency application.
On forfeits, the WIAA argued that its rules allowing additional penalties for certain withdrawals apply to postseason competition and that any such penalty is discretionary. It said no penalty had been imposed on Keeler and its board had not been asked to consider her circumstances.
The association maintained that the requested injunction would require information and operational control it lacks.
“An injunction a defendant cannot obey is not a remedy; it is a contempt trap,” its attorneys wrote.
Washington state girls’ wrestler Kallie Keeler (Alliance Defending Freedom)
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Although it urged denial of relief against all defendants, the WIAA asked to be expressly excluded from any injunction the Court might grant, or at least protected from an order requiring changes to its gender-identity participation rule.
All three responses emphasized that the Supreme Court’s recent West Virginia v. B.P.J. ruling permitted sex-based restrictions but left unresolved whether Title IX prohibits schools from allowing transgender girls onto girls’ teams.
The family’s application also asks the Supreme Court to take up the case before the Ninth Circuit finishes its review. The defendants urged the justices to let proceedings continue in the lower courts.
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Frampton has described a broader goal of securing a ruling that Title IX requires a protected female category nationwide. For Keeler, he emphasized the limited time remaining to compete.
“High school careers are fleeting. She’s already a junior. Blink and it’ll be over. And we just don’t want her to miss out on the opportunity to compete in high school athletics,” Frampton said.
