(LifeSiteNews) — A 16-year-old male runner has sparked national outrage after his so-called “gender transition” to compete against girls in high school cross-country competitions, jumping into the top five of a recent meet after being ranked closer to 200th among biological males.
Within the district including the privately run Maine Coast Waldorf School in Freeport, Maine, Soren Stark-Chessa reportedly ranked 172nd as a freshman last year among boys. On September 30, after a decision to “identify” as a girl during his sophomore year, he placed fifth at the Maine XC Festival of Champions.
The Blaze noted that he crossed the finish line in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 18 minutes, 11.35 seconds, which would have placed Stark-Chessa 143rd had he been competing against boys.
News of Stark-Chessa’s intrusion of the district’s female cross-country competitions was brought to attention by conservative activist Shawn McBreairty, who wrote in a September 28 post on X, formerly Twitter: “Sophomore boy ranked 172nd in the cross county 5k flips over to race with the girls, now he’s ranked 4th.”
“Parents need to know his selfishness will ruin the dreams of young women on Saturday in Belfast, ME at 1:50pm. Parents need to revolt and call this madness out.”
McBreairty also referred to Stark-Chessa as “Maine’s Own William (Lia) Thomas” in a Your News article published the same day.
Sophomore boy ranked 172nd in the cross country 5k flips over to race with the girls, now he’s ranked 4th.
Parents need to know his selfishness will ruin the dreams of young women on Saturday in Belfast, ME at 1:50pm.
Parents need to revolt and call this madness out.… pic.twitter.com/xqu0Jsn4ol
— Shawn McBreairty 🇺🇸 (@ShawnMcBreairty) September 28, 2023
On the day of the race, McBreairty posted a video of the boy crossing the finish line, calling the situation “pathetic” and school officials who allowed it to happen “woke morons.” A bystander can be heard shouting “way to cheat, bro,” as the boy runs past.
Cheater boy from Freeport, ME Soren Stark-Chessa displaces the 11th placed girl from a medal, as expected.
He finishes the girls race 5th.
Cheater boy from Freeport, ME Soren Stark-Chessa displaces the 11th placed girl from a medal, as expected.
He finishes the girls race 5th.
Pathetic.
The #MainePrincipalsAssociation are woke morons. pic.twitter.com/DxbIFBgdzl
— Shawn McBreairty 🇺🇸 (@ShawnMcBreairty) September 30, 2023
McBreairty was not the only conservative to express disapproval and demand justice. Women’s sports advocate and former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines took to social media, lamenting that “it’s always the same story.”
“Anyone who thinks trans-identifying males competing in women’s sports is fair, please show me ONE example of a female ranking higher against the men at a competitive level than she did in the women’s category.”
It’s always the same story.
Anyone who thinks trans-identifying males competing in women’s sports is fair, please show me ONE example of a female ranking higher against the men at a competitive level than she did in the women’s category. pic.twitter.com/duqdJ6yIbX
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 3, 2023
Former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya shared similar sentiments, writing, “ENOUGH! Girls need to REFUSE to compete in these scenarios.”
“Girls deserve fair play & equal opportunity in their own competitions,” the independent Women’s Forum added. The controversy also attracted the attention of Republican Rep. Christine Goodwin of Oregon, who declared that she “will never stop fighting to protect women’s sports.”
The situation is one of many that have arisen in the aftermath of the infamous William “Lia” Thomas, who dominated the female collegiate swimming competitions after “transitioning.” The story is referenced constantly amid ongoing debates about the fairness and safety of allowing biological men to compete against women in sports.
Conservative states such as Texas and Alabama have instituted bans on athletes competing against the opposite sex while others have only restricted gender-confused men and boys from doing so. Many more have no laws in place to distinguish between the biological differences between male and female athletes despite a recent poll showing that 67% of Americans oppose the practice of allowing men to compete against women.
Maine currently does not have any laws in place regarding this issue.
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