Wrestling with the obvious

Wrestling is perhaps the ultimate contact sport. In no other sport do opposing competitors’ body parts consistently come in close contact with one another for prolonged periods of time, almost to the point that in any other context it would be defined as physical intimacy.

For this reason, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is asking the Supreme Court to hear a case that is perhaps the most compelling example of why lawmakers must prohibit boys from competing in girls’ sports—full stop.

The case begins in a wrestling match in Washington state. Kallie Keeler wrestled for Rogers High in Puyallup, Wash.—a Tacoma suburb—last season. According to the lawsuit, in early December, at a season-opening tournament, Keeler—then a 15-year-old sophomore—competed in a bout in the 190-pound weight class against an opponent from crosstown rival Emerald Ridge, the tournament host.

During the match, Keeler claims, she felt her opponent repeatedly and forcefully jam fingers into her most private areas through her singlet while supposedly performing a wrestling move. Video shows Keeler visibly distressed as her opponent reaches between her legs from behind her buttocks with one hand while attempting to roll Keeler onto her back with the other. Keeler has told media outlets she felt violated enough by the alleged poking that she let her opponent pin her just to make it stop.

Incidental contact with private parts sometimes happens in wrestling as one grappler strives to subdue another. But intentionally brutalizing an opponent’s genitals is grounds for disqualification—not just from a match, but an entire tournament.

Only later did Keeler learn from another school’s coach that her opponent was a male who self-identifies as “transgender.”

In other words, a boy may have sexually assaulted Keeler before a live audience. Even worse: He might get away with it.

Local prosecutors declined to pursue charges against the male wrestler. Though they acknowledged that the wrestler’s fingers penetrated Keeler’s privates during the match and that such penetration could give rise to third-degree rape under Washington law, the prosecutors pointed to a Washington Court of Appeals case holding that athletes participating in contact sports can impliedly consent to foreseeable contact.

Among the few Latin phrases I remember from law school is Volenti non fit injuria—“To one who is willing, no harm is done.” The phrase explains why athletes who willingly participate in violent contact sports generally cannot sue for personal injuries suffered during competition. An exception, however, exists when an injury results from contact outside the scope of an athlete’s consent. I’d argue that this exception applies to Keeler’s situation. While incidental contact with one’s genitals is part of wrestling, repeated and deliberate attempts to force one’s fingers inside a female wrestler’s genitals are not. Accordingly, I believe prosecutors made the wrong call here.

On top of that, by concealing the boy’s sex, tournament officials and opposing coaches robbed Keeler of a meaningful opportunity to consent to wrestling against him. Boys have frequently opted out of wrestling against girls—sometimes forfeiting opportunities at state titles in the process, due to their religious and/or moral values. Girls should be allowed to opt out of wrestling boys due to legitimate concerns about being sexually violated before throngs of cheering fans.

Compounding Keeler’s harm is that despite reporting the alleged incident to Puyallup School District officials two days after she says it occurred, Keeler claims the district did nothing about it for nearly two months—and then allegedly contacted local police only after media contacted the district. Washington law requires school officials to report alleged sexual assaults to law enforcement within 48 hours.

Rogers High principal Jason Smith and athletic director Peter Collins now face criminal charges. “These cases hopefully put teachers and school officials on notice that they can’t just hide these things,” Washington-based political commentator Brandi Kruse said on her podcast, unDivided.

ADF has tried to obtain justice for Keeler before a federal district court and the Ninth Circuit, to no avail. The legal organization has thus asked the Supreme Court to hear her case during the run-up to a Nov. 3 vote on a Washington ballot measure aimed at keeping boys in grades K to 12 out of girls’ sports.

At one time, girls who wished to wrestle in high school once had to do so against boys because that was their only option. That’s no longer true. According to FloWrestling.org, the number of female high school wrestlers nationwide exploded from nearly 17,000 in 2018 to more than 52,000 in 2023. USA Today reported in 2024 that 45 states have sanctioned girls’ wrestling and hold state championship tournaments in the sport. Girls thus need not wrestle against boys anymore, and Keeler apparently would not have consented to do so had she known her opponent was male.

What happened to Kallie Keeler, if true, is even worse than robbing girls of podium spots at state championship meets or allowing balls rocketed off boys’ hands or sticks to disfigure girls’ faces. Such an incident was bound to happen eventually. Prioritizing the desire of certain boys to compete in accordance with their self-proclaimed gender identity over the comfort and safety of girls needs to stop—now. It’s madness.