Who is Alexa Anderson? Division I athlete leading legal battle for free speech
University of South Alabama freshman Alexa Anderson was a top recruit nationally in the women’s track and field pole vault this past year, and still found time to take on the establishment.
Anderson filed a lawsuit against the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) over the summer after she stepped down from a medal podium to protest a transgender athlete. Anderson’s lawsuit alleges she was told to get out of the medalist photo shoot, and wasn’t given her third-place medal.
The lawsuit aims to ensure that high school athletes in Oregon are allowed to express their first amendment right to free speech without fear of retaliation from officials. The lawsuit has already cleared one of the OSAA’s motions to strike.
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Anderson told Fox News Digital in a June interview that she came from a family of Oregon Democrats. However, she said they also firmly agreed with her stance on protecting women’s sports from male trans athletes. But she herself had her own approach.
“I think whoever I vote for would be whoever aligns most with my personal values, whether that’s a Democrat or Republican,” she said of her own alignment.
Then in September, she witnessed the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“I followed that very closely,” she said. “I think it is so incredibly horrible that a young man was taken from his family, taken from his children, just for standing up for what he believed in.”
Anderson became inspired by Kirk after seeing him lead discussions with women’s sports activist Riley Gaines.
“It was really great to see people with such influence supporting this issue, knowing people like that are standing up with us,” Anderson said.
“I would hope that he would be proud of what we’re doing, that we’re standing up for what we believe in, because everything I’ve seen from Charlie Kirk, that was his message. He always wanted to stand up for what he believes in, and spread that to other people and educate them.”
OREGON GIRLS WHO PROTESTED TRANS ATHLETE AT TRACK AND FIELD MEDAL PODIUM SCORE LEGAL WIN IN LAWSUIT
Before she did the high jump and pole vault, Anderson was a gymnast as a child, and she had the same hero as so many young gymnasts across the U.S. — Simone Biles.
“I was a gymnast for nine years. I idolized her, ever since 2012, when she really started becoming the greatest of all time,” Anderson said.
When asked how Anderson feels about Biles now, she referenced the gymnast legend’s online feud with Gaines.
“I think she is an amazing athlete, but I don’t agree with how she handled that situation. I think it was hateful and hurtful and not a good thing for all the girls who look up to her to be seeing,” Anderson said.
What bothered Anderson most was when Biles appeared to “bodyshame” Gaines, when the Olympic legend wrote, “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”
“When I saw a tweet of her, kind of bodyshaming Riley, and saying, ‘pick on someone your own size,’ that really hurt,” Anderson said of Biles.
Anderson became an overnight sensation in the “Save Women’s Sports” circles on social media after she and fellow Oregon female athlete Reese Eckard stepped down from their third- and fourth-place spots on the medal podium to protest a trans athlete who finished fifth.
Then came the DMs.
Some were nice and supportive. But others weren’t. And she even responded to some of those.
“When I received one of my first hate comments, I kind of just brushed it off. I said, ‘Thank you for sharing your opinion. I respect your opinion. This is mine and this is what I stood for,’” Anderson said back in June. “I have responded to some.”
Anderson had just committed to the University of South Alabama in January, and was coming up on graduation. And when she made the decision to use her platform to protest a trans athlete, she was a 2023 Pole Vault State Champion, national All-American, an Under 20 6th-place finisher, and ranked eighth in the nation for high school girls’ pole vault in the class of 2025.
She later revealed that the negative comments escalated to the point of death threats, and alleged calls to her school with calls to expel her before graduation, as her story picked up wind.
“There were people who were calling my school asking for me to be expelled, not being allowed to walk at graduation,” Anderson alleged. “There were people messaging me personally, just saying horrible things, death threats even.
“I hope you die,” read one message, she alleges, with another reading, “Your parents are definitely embarrassed of you.”
“It definitely hurt.”
A Tigard High School spokesperson declined to elaborate on the situation to Fox News Digital, writing, “We don’t have a comment to share.”
Her commitment to South Alabama earlier this year put her in a setting where she currently feels safe and accepted.
“A lot of people have [seen the viral video of the protest] especially on my track team, a lot of people all know what happened, and they’ve all been very supportive and kind,” Anderson said.
South Alabama’s track and field season is set to begin in late January, as Anderson will take on Sun Belt Conference competition while advancing her lawsuit.
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