Jogger Yells Hate Speech At Coach Defending Male Runner

CAMAS, Wash., A sign appeared harmless enough in the hands of its holder. So did the man holding it. Yet a jogger passing by saw things differently. Outside a district cross country meet where a biological male competed against girls, Steve Lynch displayed a placard reading: "Coached X-C & Track for 24 years. If you have questions about the differences between Girls & Boys...answers given here FREE of charge!" As Lynch started to explain those differences, the jogger screamed back, shouting, "Jesus loves a firing squad! Go kill Muslims! Go kill trans people! That's your rhetoric, right? F--- you!" Lynch did not flinch. Instead, he smiled.

"Oftentimes I have to deal with that," he said. Lynch represents courage on this issue, something many adults lack these days. Over the past few weeks, students, not grown-ups, have led the opposition to a Camas High cross country runner competing against girls after starting the season on the boys team. But a rally outside Wednesday's meet revealed that the adults are catching up in bravery. That boy finished second among 25 runners to help lead Camas to the girls district championship, and more than 100 grown-ups showed up, maybe 200. Most wore clothes advocating for separating males and females in sports. At the rally's center stood Initiative 638, a Nov. 3 ballot measure in Washington state that would enforce such separation in K-12 athletics.

Sarah Burns, mother of a Camas runner who walked off the start line in protest last week, never imagined herself as an activist when the season began. Now she finds herself at the heart of one of Washington state's most contentious debates. "I was just a mom going to watch her daughter, and then we found out what was happening, and I couldn't not say something," Burns said, wearing an XX-XY Athletics shirt. "These are teenage girls that should be able to be teenage girls and run and compete in their sport and not have their achievements taken from them." She was not the only Camas parent willing to speak on Wednesday. Sarah Babb also attended; her daughter Madeline walked off the start line last week too. Like Burns' daughter Holly, Madeline had no idea her actions would trigger such widespread media attention. But as reporters from across the nation showed up for Wednesday's rally and meet, Sarah felt less isolated.

"As a mom who comes to these races all season long, it feels very alone as I stand there and go, 'This is awful,'" Babb said. "So it was great to see such support last week, and this is wild this week. It's hard to be the quiet majority, to feel like we're being bullied into silence. I think a lot of people feel that way. I know it's scary. It's scary." Fear is real here. Over the past couple weeks while covering this story, most parents remained reluctant to speak, even anonymously. Many expressed fear of losing their jobs. One parent said, "I don't want my house burned down."

It is easy to catastrophize when you see how vicious opponents in the Protect Women's Sports crowd can be. There was that jogger shouting at Lynch. There was a Golden State Valkyries fan who told an XX-XY shirt-wearer to "f---ing kill yourself" at a WNBA Finals game last week. There was a Seattle Storm co-owner telling a girl with the same shirt she's "f---ing insane" in July, leaving that girl in tears. Surely one can see why parents would want to sit this issue out? Women's sports advocate Amy Sousa isn't so sure.

"I don't have a lot of patience for adults who are willing to let the girls take the hits," Sousa said. The stakes remain high as regulations and government directives shape what happens on school grounds across the state. Parents face pressure from all sides, but some are stepping forward anyway.

If these girls are willing to stand up to their peers, I think adults can stand up to theirs. And if they can't do it in public, at least they can do it at the ballot." That was the sentiment heard Wednesday as voices rose against I-638. One woman named Stephanie stood firmly in opposition. She asked that her last name remain private but greeted me and my photographer with cordiality.

She claimed the measure would mandate invasive genital exams to verify sex, a falsehood easily debunked by alternatives like cheek swabs. When I pointed out those options, she argued they were too costly and insisted there simply weren't enough trans athletes involved to make such testing worthwhile. She also dismissed complaints from female athletes regarding unfair competition against biological males with this exchange: "Fairness is reasonable, and I do think there should be rules. Even in the Olympics, each sport can set up certain rules." Stephanie added, "I don't want to wrestle with somebody who's got 40 pounds on me, whether they're male or female." But that was about size, not just birth gender.

Come on though. Is it really only about size? How many women under six-foot-four have you seen dunk a basketball? Countless men under that height can do it. Biology matters in every sport without exception.

The reality of this divide hit Camas High senior Kate Westfall hard earlier this month. She was the fastest girl on the cross country roster and won districts last year. Her final high school season held bigger aspirations. Instead, she walked away from everything because racing against a boy simply wasn't fair to her.

Her parents, Joe and Jennie, showed up at district meets wearing protect-women's-sports attire to honor their daughter's courage on Wednesday. "She made the brave decision to forgo the rest of her senior season and give up opportunities in order to bring awareness to the impact the current state policy is having on females who are being forced to compete in this unfair environment," Jennie said. "As her parents, we are proud of her courage and are honored to stand with her."

Joe and Jennie admit they fear backlash. But that is the thing about courage, without fear, it does not exist.