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University of South Alabama freshman Alexa Anderson was a top recruit nationally in the women’s track and field pole vault last 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 off a medal podium to protest a transgender athlete. Anderson’s lawsuit claims she was asked to get out of the medalist photo shoot and was not 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 granted one of OSAA’s motions to strike.
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Anderson comes from a family of Democrats, but came to admire Charlie Kirk
Anderson told Pakinomist Digital in an interview in June that she comes from a family of Oregon Democrats. However, she said they also fully agreed with her stance on protecting women’s sports from male trans athletes. But she had her own approach.
“I think whoever I vote for would be the one that most aligns with my personal values, whether it’s a Democrat or a Republican,” she said.
Then, in September, she witnessed the murder of Charlie Kirk.
“I followed it very closely,” she said. “I think it’s 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 was inspired by Kirk after watching him lead discussions with women’s sports activist Riley Gaines.
“It was really great to see people with such influence supporting this issue, having people like that standing up for us,” Anderson said.
“I would hope that he would be proud of what we do, that we stand up for what we believe in, because everything I’ve seen from Charlie Kirk, that was his message. He’s always wanted to stand up for what he believes in and spread it to other people and educate them.”
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Growing up, Anderson ‘idolized’ Simone Biles. Now it’s complicated
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 United States – Simone Biles.
“I was a gymnast for nine years. I idolized her, ever since 2012, when she really started to become the greatest ever,” Anderson said.
When asked how Anderson feels about Biles now, she referenced the legendary gymnast’s online feud with Gaines.
“I think she’s a great 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 see,” Anderson said.
What bothered Anderson the most was when Biles appeared to be “ashamed” of Gaines when the Olympic legend wrote, “bullying someone your own size, who ironically would be a man.”
“When I saw a tweet of her kind of body-shaming Riley and saying ‘Pick someone your own size,’ it really hurt,” Anderson said of Biles.
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She took refuge in south Alabama after enduring an online hate campaign
Anderson became an overnight sensation in Save Women’s Sports social media circles after she and fellow Oregon female athlete Reese Eckard resigned from their third- and fourth-place finishes on a medal podium to protest a trans athlete who finished fifth.
Then came the DMs.
Some were nice and supportive. But others were not. And she even responded to some of them.
“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 in June. “I have responded to some.”
Anderson had just committed to the University of South Alabama in January and was on track to graduate. And when she made the decision to use her platform to protest a trans athlete, she was a 2023 state champion in the pole vault, a national All-American, a sixth-place finisher under the age of 20 and ranked eighth in the nation in the high school girls pole vault in the class of 2025.
She later revealed that the negative comments escalated into death threats and alleged calls to her school demanding to expel her before graduation as her story took off.
“There were people calling my school asking me to be expelled because they weren’t allowed to sit the exam,” Anderson alleged. “There were people messaging me personally, just saying horrible things, even death threats.”
“I hope you die” was one of the messages she received, she said. Another said: “Your parents must be embarrassed for you.”
“It definitely hurt,” she said.
A spokesperson for Tigard High School declined to elaborate on the situation to Pakinomist Digital, writing, “We do not have a comment to share.”
Anderson’s commitment to South Alabama earlier this year put her in a setting where she feels safe and accepted.
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“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 begins in late January, and Anderson will take on Sun Belt Conference competition as she moves forward with her trial.
