Sixteen-year-old Washington basketball player Frances Staudt has publicly challenged the state’s Democratic leaders over policies she says endanger girls’ sports and punish dissent. After refusing to play against a transgender opponent, Staudt was investigated for misgendering and later delivered a sharply worded speech at a political event, urging voters and President Donald Trump to intervene.
Frances Staudt, a 16-year-old player on the Tumwater High School girls' basketball team, has become a prominent voice in Washington state’s ongoing dispute over transgender participation in girls’ sports.
According to the Daily Wire, Staudt previously refused to compete against a transgender player she described as a “quite obvious” male. Following that decision, she was investigated by the Tumwater School District and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) for “misgendering” the opposing athlete — an action that prompted a federal civil-rights complaint on her behalf earlier this year.
The district, citing state law, has said it will not “discriminate based on sexual identity” while acknowledging that families have differing views, the Daily Wire reported. Staudt, however, has claimed that the message she received from school officials was far more dismissive, alleging they told her that her concerns “did not matter” and that acknowledging biological sex was off-limits.
Over the weekend, Staudt appeared at an event in Issaquah, Washington, supporting two “Let’s Go Washington” ballot initiatives that seek to restrict participation in girls’ sports to students whose sex was recorded as female at birth. In a speech carried by local commentator Brandi Kruse and reported by the Daily Wire, Staudt accused state leaders of putting ideology ahead of girls’ safety and fairness.
In her remarks, Staudt specifically criticized Governor Bob Ferguson, State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, and Attorney General Nick Brown, saying, “Governor Ferguson, Chris Reykdal, and Nick Brown, we see right through you. And what we see is gutless men trying to stifle the voices of young women. I may be 16 years old, but I have way more guts than you’ll ever have. We’re not going to stand for it anymore.”
She went on to say she refuses to share a locker room “with the boys and men” or be punished for declining to do so, describing what she called escalating retaliation: public criticism from school staff, online harassment, and threats directed at her family. Staudt also said some adults had privately expressed support but were reluctant to speak out publicly.
Staudt concluded her speech by calling for political action, including from former President Donald Trump and state voters. “We need you, President Trump, to please put these out-of-touch politicians in their place and stop this nonsense. I won’t stop. Thank you. I won’t stop, and I’m asking everyone listening to fight with me. Fight, fight, fight. We will not stand down,” she said, according to the Daily Wire’s account of the event.
Her appearance in Issaquah comes as Washington continues to debate how school sports should handle gender identity. The WIAA currently allows transgender students to participate based on gender identity, while separate efforts — including the initiatives backed by the Let’s Go Washington campaign — seek to limit girls’ sports to athletes whose biological sex is female. Staudt’s case and public advocacy have become a rallying point for supporters of those restrictions, even as opponents warn the measures would roll back protections for transgender students.