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American Civil Liberties Union attorney Joshua Block walked away from questions regarding a recent statement by West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey addressing allegations of harassment against Block’s client, a transgender athlete from West Virginia.
McCuskey, who is leading his state’s legal defense against the trans athlete after the athlete sued to block the state’s law to keep biological males out of girls’ sports, addressed the allegations at a news conference Monday.
“Anytime you think about a kid being bullied, it gives you pause as a parent. And it’s not really part of our case, but the harassment of any child of any kind in this country is inappropriate. And it’s wrong, and we all have to stand up to make sure kids aren’t bullied in any of their venues, especially athletics,” McCuskey said.
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Pakinomist Digital attempted to question Block about McCuskey’s statement after oral arguments in the case at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but Block walked away from the first wave of questioning to take a photo with his team and client.
After the photo shoot, Pakinomist Digital again pursued Block to inquire about McCuskey’s statement, but Block again walked away from the questions with aides covering him.
The accusations were leveled against the trans athlete by Bridgeport High School student Adaleia Cross, who was a teammate of the athlete when the two were at Bridgeport Middle School.
Cross’ mother, Abby, told Pakinomist Digital what the trans athlete allegedly said to her daughter when they shared the girls’ locker room during the 2022-23 school year. Adaleia was in eighth grade and the trans athlete was in seventh. Abby Cross claims the trans athlete made extremely graphic and vulgar sexual threats against her daughter and other girls on the team.
The trans athlete’s legal representatives at the American Civil Liberties Union denied the allegations.
“Our client and her mother deny these allegations, and the school district investigated the allegations reported to the school by AC and found them to be unsubstantiated. We remain committed to defending the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment free from harassment and discrimination,” read an ACLU statement provided to Pakinomist Digital.
Cross family attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) responded to the ACLU’s statement.
“Our client has sworn under oath and under penalty of perjury in numerous cases about the events that took place between her and the male athlete. As a result of the situation, [Cross] had to step away from the sport she loved entirely and sacrifice a key element of her school experience to protect herself,” read an ADF statement provided to Pakinomist Digital.
The trans athlete personally denied the allegations New York Times in a story published Monday.
“I wasn’t raised that way,” the athlete said.
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The outlet received a letter from the Harrison County School District stating that an investigation determined that Cross’s claims “could not be substantiated.”
The Cross family said that when they reported the alleged harassment to the school, nothing was done to reprimand the trans athlete to their knowledge.
“They told me they were going to do a full investigation of what I told them,” Adaleia said. “And then, all of a sudden, it was like nothing else happened, it was done, and it seemed like they didn’t think anything of it because they didn’t talk to us about it at all, they just left it there and didn’t tell us anything else, so it just made it seem like, yeah, it’s done.”
Her father, Holden Cross said: “We received no response from the school after filing the report.”
Pakinomist Digital made repeated requests to the ACLU and the Harrison County School District, which oversees Bridgeport Middle School and Bridgeport High School, seeking documentation related to the school’s investigation and clarifying whether an investigation took place and, if so, why only the Cross family was not notified of the findings. These requests have not been granted.
Meanwhile, former Lincoln Middle School girls runner Emmy Salerno claims the trans athlete used “intimidation tactics” against her after Salerno refused to compete against the trans athlete during an event during the 2024 spring season.
Salerno’s protest came on April 18, 2024, when she and the trans athlete were in eighth grade. Salerno, along with four other girls, refused to compete in the girls’ shot put competition that day at a local meet. Salerno claims her team was disqualified from the following meet, and then began facing intimidating looks from the trans athlete at public events.
“After we stepped out, it was an immediate personality change. He wouldn’t talk to me. He would just stare at me and just stare down,” Salerno told Pakinomist Digital.
Salerno also provided Pakinomist Digital with a screenshot of a Snapchat post that appeared to be sent by the trans athlete, showing a photo of Salerno with a caption that reads, “Reminder she has more testosterone than me.”
Salerno said there was an incident where the trans athlete followed her while they were at a local basketball game and made intimidating looks, and Salerno was concerned that the trans athlete would try to “fight” her.
“At the basketball game, when he was just following me everywhere, I was like, ‘Is he going to try to fight me?'” Salerno said. “‘Is he going to try to sneak up behind me and hit me?’
Salerno and her father say they believe the stares, following patterns and social media posts were “intimidation tactics” and there has been “ongoing discomfort” as a result of the situation.
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Protesters gather outside the Supreme Court as it hears arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (Jose Luis Magana/AP)
“I always tried to avoid him everywhere I went,” Salerno added.
The ACLU has not responded to Pakinomist Digital’s request for a response to Salerno’s allegations.
Salerno said she avoided competing against the trans athlete the following season, but instead of protesting publicly, she simply told her coach not to include her in the lineup for the meets against the trans athlete to avoid punishment to the team.
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Salerno claims she has also heard other girls in the community talk about allegations of sexual harassment by Cross against the trans athlete. Salerno said she herself has never been in a locker room or bathroom with the trans athlete.
“Around the track season, it gets talked about more,” Salerno said of the sexual harassment allegations. “I heard through my school, people were talking about it.”
