Oklahoma

Student’s death shines new light on LGBTQ+ policies in Oklahoma schools

Published

2 years ago

March 1, 2024

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Student’s death shines new light on LGBTQ+ policies in Oklahoma schools

The week in extremism, from USA TODAY.

The death of a transgender student after a fight at an Oklahoma school has placed new focus on the state’s hostile stance toward LGBTQ+ people. Meanwhile, a government report finds that social media and gaming companies continue to host extremist propaganda and recruitment efforts. And extremism is a top concern for voters, according to a new nationwide poll.

It’s the week in extremism.

Student’s death shines light on Oklahoma’s treatment of LGBTQ+ community

Nex Benedict, a teenager from the Tulsa, Oklahoma, suburb of Owasso, died earlier this month, a day after they were involved in a fight in a high school bathroom. Nex, who used he/him and they/them pronouns, identified as gender expansive, an umbrella term that describes people whose gender identity expands beyond traditional gender norms, according to the National Institutes of Health.

While it remains unclear whether the fight contributed to Nex’s death, the case has placed new focus on Oklahoma’s treatment of the LGBTQ+ community.

Several students in Owasso told The Oklahoman they had experienced bullying because of their gender identities and sexualities. “I was bullied pretty much every day, consistently,” said Ren Stolas, 20, who is transgender. “That’s why this hurts a little extra.”

On Wednesday, 350 local, state and national organizations sent an open letter to senior officials at the Oklahoma State Legislature calling for the removal of state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, who they say has been hostile towards the state’s LGBTQ+ community.
Last month, Walters appointed Chaya Raichik, the far-right influencer whose controversial posts have preceded dozens of bomb and death threats, to a statewide library advisory board. That move had sparked outrage from the LGBTQ+ community.
As USA TODAY reported, Raichik does not meet the state’s own basic requirements for the position. In an interview with a Washington reporter last weekend, Raichik acknowledged she has only been to Oklahoma once, and shed no new light on her qualifications for the state position.
The open letter also calls for an investigation into the Oklahoma Department of Education, “to determine what actions and policies have led to a culture where rampant harassment” of gay and trans students.

Police officials have said in a statement that Nex’s death was not the result of injuries from a fight, adding that the findings were preliminary and investigations by the medical examiner’s office and the police department remain under way.

Report: Gaming sites, social media ‘often used’ by domestic terrorists

A report released this week by the Government Accountability Office concludes that domestic terrorists often use social media and online gaming sites to spread propaganda and “to radicalize, recruit, and mobilize” people online.

The FBI identified lone offenders and small groups who have been radicalized online and commit violence over political grievances as “one of the most significant terrorism threats” facing the country, the report says.
While the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have mechanisms to share information about extremists on social media and gaming sites, “neither agency has developed a strategy that articulates how it identifies and selects companies to engage with or the goals and desired outcomes of those engagements.”
The report’s primary recommendation: To develop just such a strategy. The FBI should should share information related to domestic violent extremism with social media and gaming companies, the GAO said.

Poll: Extremism top concern for voters

The primary concern to U.S. voters currently is political extremism/threats to democracy, according to a new nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll.

21% of respondents to the three-day poll said extremism was their top priority, while 19% said it was the economy and 18% said immigration. Crime and corruption (7%) and war and foreign conflicts (5%) were far behind.
Democrats mostly named extremism as their top concern, while Republicans overwhelmingly chose immigration.
The majority of Americans (71%) told pollsters the country is on the wrong track, and only 13% said it is heading in the right direction.

Statistic of the week: At least 17

That’s how many people were killed by domestic extremists in 2023, according to a report released late last week by the Anti-Defamation League. The number of fatalities is down from 2022, in which domestic extremists killed 27 people, per the ADL.

Will Carless is a national correspondent covering extremism and emerging issues. Contact him at wcarless@usatoday.com. Follow him on X @willcarless.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

Published

8 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

Big night in downtown OKC as the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Denver Nugget and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back on the floor.

Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.

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Oklahoma

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Published

20 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.

Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.

Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.

Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.

For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.

“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.

Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.

The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.

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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.

Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.

“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.

Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).

OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.

For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.

“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”

On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.

The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.

“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”

Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.

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Oklahoma

Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

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Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament.

A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match.

For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task.

“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.”

Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line.

Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books.

Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title.

An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction.

“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”

A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December.

It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way.

“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.”

Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over.

“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.”

This article will be updated.

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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