Oregon

Oregon girls who went viral for refusing to stand on podium with trans athlete file lawsuit

Published

6 months ago

July 24, 2025

Oregon girls who went viral for refusing to stand on podium with trans athlete file lawsuit

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Oregon is facing its second lawsuit in a month over the issue of biologically male trans athletes competing in girls’ high school sports.

Two of the state’s girls’ track and field stars, Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard, filed a lawsuit against the Oregon School Athletics Association (OSAA) after an incident on May 31 when they refused to stand on a medal podium with a transgender competitor at a state title meet.

Footage of the stunt went viral, as Anderson later told Fox News that officials instructed them to step away from the podium and get out of the shots of photos.

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Their lawsuit alleges that the OSAA not only excluded them from official photos, but also withheld their medals. The suit argues that the girls’ First Amendment rights were infringed upon by the officials.

“I recently competed against a biological male at my state track and field meet, another girl and I decided to step down from the podium in protest to the unfair competition environment,” Anderson told Fox News Digital. “I am fighting to keep women’s sports XX and prevent biological males in women’s sports from becoming normalized. By doing this, I hope that all future generations of female athletes will have a safe and fair opportunity to excel within their sports.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the OSAA for a response.

The girls are being represented by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI).

“These young women earned their place on the podium – and the right to express themselves,” said Jessica Hart Steinmann, executive general counsel at AFPI. “Instead of respecting their viewpoint that girls’ sports should be for girls only, Oregon officials sidelined them. The First Amendment protects the right to dissent – school officials don’t get to reprimand students who refuse to agree with their beliefs.”

TRACKING THE TRANS ATHLETE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS CONTROVERSIES SHAKING THE NATION OVER THE LAST YEAR

AFPI is also representing fellow Oregon girls’ track and field athletes Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter in a separate lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Education for its policies that allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports.

Carpenter and Eischen cited their experience in withdrawing from a meet that featured a trans competitor on April 18.

“For [Carpenter] the psychological and emotional weight of that moment became overwhelming—she felt helpless, demoralized, and betrayed by the institutions and adults charged with protecting her equal opportunity for fair play. Ultimately, she realized that she was unable to participate in the high jump that day and withdrew from the event,” that lawsuit alleges.

Both Carpenter and Eischen previously told Fox News Digital the experience was “traumatic.”

“My experience at the Chehalem track meet and scratching myself from the meet was traumatic, something I never imagined ever having to do,” Eischen said.

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Carpenter added, “It was emotionally traumatic trying to know what I should do and how I should respond to competing with [the trans athlete].”

Carpenter said she found herself so overwhelmed with emotion from the experience, that she cried on the ride home after the meet. Now, despite being faced with “fear” of potential retaliation for filing a lawsuit, the two girls are officially in it and charging ahead with a legal battle that could garner plenty of national attention.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

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Oregon

5 things to know about Oregon’s newest reciever Iverson Hooks from UAB

Published

12 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

5 things to know about Oregon’s newest reciever Iverson Hooks from UAB

The Oregon Ducks lost a handful of players on Sunday to the transfer portal, but Dan Lanning and his staff are slowly building the 2026 roster back up, including a new target at wide receiver that could be a reminder of another slot receiver who wore the green and yellow.

Former Alabama-Birmingham receiver Iverson Hooks has committed to come out to the West Coast and play for the Ducks. Hooks was a go-to guy for the Blazers this season, and it will be difficult for UAB to replace him immediately. But UAB’s loss is definitely Oregon’s gain.

He was one of the better players in the American Conference in 2025, and it will be interesting to see how Hooks performs against tougher competition in the Big Ten. It’ll also be interesting to see how he fits into the Oregon roster and what looks to be yet another deep receivers room in Eugene.

American Conference Honors

Hooks earned Second-Team All-American Conference honors for the Blazers. He caught 72 passes for 972 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025. For his career, Hooks has 97 catches for 1,225 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Tez Johnson/Gary Bryant Jr. Role

At just 5-foot-10 and a mere 175 pounds, Hooks is a similar player to former Duck slot receiver Tez Johnson, who also came from a Group of 5 league at Troy. He turned out to be pretty good, and there’s no reason to think Hooks won’t be either. The Ducks have had a history of making certain slot receivers into stars, such as Johnson and, most recently, Gary Bryant, Jr. Expect Hooks to pencil in at the slot and find his role there.

The WR Room Gets Deeper

Hooks should probably start in 2026 for the Ducks, but there’s no guarantee of that, as Oregon will bring back one of the more talented receiver rooms in the country. They’ll miss the likes of Bryant and Malik Benson, but Evan Stewart could be back, along with Dakorien Moore and Jeremiah McClellan. They also add Gatlin Bair fresh off of his mission, and have high-upside guys like Jalen Lott and Dillon Gresham looking for targets as well.

Remaining Eligibility

Due to an injury just three games into his redshirt freshman season in 2023, Hooks will have two years of eligibility remaining, just as Tez Johnson did when he left Troy for Eugene. Johnson made a huge jump from his junior to senior season, and the Ducks are hoping Hooks can make a similar jump as well.

Top 25 WR out of the portal

While Hooks isn’t a huge name on the market, as On3 rated him the No. 24 receiver in the portal, he doesn’t need to duplicate his numbers of 2025 to be successful for the Ducks. Oregon has plenty of playmakers on the roster and if Hooks can fill that role of being a slot receiver, make first downs, and be an occasional deep-ball threat, that should be more than good enough for the Ducks next season.

Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.

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Oregon

Auburn signs former Oregon State QB Tristan Ti’a

Published

1 day ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Auburn signs former Oregon State QB Tristan Ti’a

Auburn’s quarterback room gained another piece out of the transfer portal on Sunday, and is now up to four scholarship players.

The latest signee is Oregon State transfer Tristan Ti’a, a source confirmed to AL.com. He comes to Auburn after spending one season with the Beavers, and will likely fill the backup quarterback role at Auburn behind Byrum Brown.

Ti’a was a backup during his freshman season at Oregon State, playing in three games. In that time, he completed 37 of his 53 passes for 385 yards with three passing touchdowns and two interceptions.

He’s the third and likely final transfer quarterback to sign with Auburn since the portal opened on Jan. 2, joining Brown and former USF third-string quarterback Locklan Hewlett. Incoming freshman Rhys Brush will also be in the quarterback room next season.

With Ti’a signing, Auburn is now up to 22 incoming transfers. The portal will remain open until Jan. 16. Keep up with all of Auburn’s incoming and outgoing transfers here.

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Oregon

Oregon outside linebacker Blake Purchase to enter transfer portal

Published

2 days ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Oregon outside linebacker Blake Purchase to enter transfer portal

Oregon is losing a second edge defender to transfer.

Blake Purchase will enter the transfer portal, he announced via X. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

“I want to start by thanking God for this journey and everything that has come with it,” Purchase told DenverSportsMedia.com. “Thank you to my family for the continued love and support they have given me. I’m forever grateful for these past three seasons at the University of Oregon. The lessons l’ve learned here will stay with me for a lifetime. Thank you to all the coaches who poured into me and helped me grow as both a person and a player. And to my teammates – the bonds we built are forever. You are my brothers for life.”

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Purchase had 32 tackles (4.5 for loss) with two sacks, one interception and one pass breakup this season. His 352 snaps on defense ranked 14th for UO this season.

Purchase had two tackles while redshirting last season and five tackles as a true freshman in 2023.

A four-star recruit out of Cherry Creek (Colorado) High School, Purchase was the No. 294 overall prospect and No. 34 edge defender in the class of 2023 in the 247Sports Composite.

Purchase will be the sixteenth scholarship player to transfer from UO this offseason, joining defensive backs Jahlil Florence, Dakoda Fields, Solomon Davis, Sione Laulea, Kingston Lopa and Daylen Austin, receivers Justius Lowe and Kyler Kasper, quarterbacks Austin Novosad and Luke Moga, offensive lineman Lipe Moala and running backs Jay Harris, Makhi Hughes and Jayden Limar. Oregon has 79 projected scholarship players in 2026.

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