Two female high school athletes have come forward and accused a transgender student — who is at the center of a US Supreme Court case regarding trans students’ participation in girls’ sports — of aggressive sexual harassment and intimidation, according to a report.
Adaleia Cross, a student at Bridgeport High School in West Virginia, said the transgender athlete, who was born a biological male, made uncomfortable comments to her in the girl’s locker room that amounted to sexual harassment, Fox News reported.
She said she ultimately decided to quit the track and field team when the trans student reached high school based on the disturbing locker room remarks allegedly made when she was in eighth grade and the transgender student was in seventh grade during the 2022-2023 school year at Bridgeport Middle School.
“When Adaleia first told us, she told us that [the trans athlete] was telling her and other girls ‘suck my d–k,’” Adaleia’s mother, Abby Cross, told Fox News.
“[The trans athlete] was saying to her, coming up and saying to her, ‘I’m going to stick my d–k in your p—y and also in your a–.’ At different times [the trans athlete] was saying these things to her,” she alleged.
The transgender student brought a lawsuit against the state in 2021 when they were just 11 years old and successfully blocked a West Virginia state law that prohibits biological males from competing in girls’ sports.
The student, who has identified as a female since the third grade, is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) — and over 130 congressional Democrats have signed an amicus brief in support of the trans athlete for the Supreme Court review.
The ACLU denied the Cross family’s allegations, and said the school found the claims to be “unsubstantiated” after the Cross family reported them to officials.
“We remain committed to defending the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment free from harassment and discrimination,” the organization told Fox in a statement.
Another female athlete, Lincoln Middle School runner Emmy Salerno, said the same student used “intimidation tactics” against her when she refused to compete against them during an event in spring 2024 when they were both in the eighth grade.
After Salerno and four other girls refused to go up against the transgender student in the girls’ shotput competition, their team was disqualified.
“After we stepped out, it was an immediate personality change. He didn’t want to talk to me. He just wanted to stare at me, and just stare down,” Salerno told Fox News.
The transgender student even allegedly posted a photo of Salerno on Snapchat with the caption, “Reminder that she has more testosterone than me.”
Salerno said she was even scared that the trans athlete would “fight” her after following her one night at a local basketball game.
“I’ve always tried to avoid him everywhere I went,” Salerno added.
The ACLU has not responded to Salerno’s allegations.
An appeals court upheld the decision to block the West Virginia law in April 2024, but in July the US Supreme Court agreed to review the case, and oral arguments are scheduled to begin on Jan. 13.
