Washington female wrestler appeals Title IX case over alleged assault by trans opponent to Ninth Circuit

A has taken her Title IX lawsuit to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking emergency safety protections before the upcoming wrestling season after she was allegedly sexually assaulted on the mat by a trans competitor last winter.

The teenager at the center of the lawsuit, previously identified by OutKick as Kallie Keeler, is referred to in court as K.M.K.

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Alliance Defending Freedom announced Thursday, exclusively to OutKick, that it filed an emergency motion on behalf of K.M.K. and her mother, Stephanie Brown. The filing asks the appeals court to act by Sept. 25 and challenge policies enforced by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Puyallup School District.

After Brown and K.M.K. asked the court to protect her from another matchup against a biological male, U.S. District Judge David Castillo denied their request for a preliminary injunction on Aug. 23.

Brown and K.M.K. appealed on Aug. 25 and asked Castillo to protect K.M.K. while the appeal moved forward. When he denied that request on Aug. 31, ADF took the case to the Ninth Circuit.

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The case dates back to a South Puget Sound League tournament match on Dec. 6, 2025, at Emerald Ridge High School involving Rogers High School. K.M.K. took the mat without being told that her opponent was a biological male who identifies as trans.

During the match, the male competitor allegedly shoved his fingers through K.M.K.s clothing and penetrated her genital area for several seconds. The complaint alleges K.M.K. allowed herself to be pinned to escape the encounter.

K.M.K. and her mother say they were never told before the match that she would face a trans competitor. They argue that Washington officials have left the door open to trans participation in girls high school athletics while keeping female athletes and their parents in the dark about potential safety risks.

The family says the schools response after the match deepened its concerns.

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Brown first alerted Rogers wrestling coach Lucia Scott on Dec. 8, two days after the match. She provided video evidence and asked the school to address what had happened. Scott allegedly forwarded the report to athletic director Peter Collins, who then involved principal Jason Smith.

"From that point, I kind of took the lead in talking to the coaches, and I made sure to send them an email and let them know what happened and ask them to kind of handle the situation," Brown previously told OutKick. "They assured me they were looking into it. They assured me it was gonna be handled. They passed it off to all these people, and then we just never heard anything else about it, like nothing further about it until we started pressing them."

The family alleges that school administrators waited 55 days to report the matter to auth