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Alexa Anderson, the former high school track athlete in Oregon who made waves when she refused to share a podium with a transgender competitor earlier this year, had a message for girls who are still experiencing the same issues on Monday.
While polls suggest that most Americans believe that females should only compete against females in sports, not all states have complied with President Donald Trump’s executive order to bar transgender athletes from competing against the gender they identify as.
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Alexa Anderson is a former Oregon high school girls' track and field star and current women's athlete at the University of South Alabama. (Courtesy of Alexa Anderson)
Anderson appeared on "America’s Newsroom" on Monday and said girls and women alike need to take a stand.
"My message is it’s not fair and it’s not safe, and we have to stand up as the girls affected by this issue," she told Fox News Channel’s Dana Perino. "It is our job to stand up and tell the people in charge that we are not OK with this and we want change."
Anderson and her teammate, Reese Eckard, decided to step off the podium after finishing in third place at the Oregon state championships in high jump. The moment went viral across the internet and helped intensify the spotlight on transgender athletes competing against women.
Oregon girls' track and field athletes Reese Eckard and Alexa Anderson don't stand on a medal podium next to a trans opponent. (Courtesy of America First Policy Institute)
Anderson recently detailed to Fox News Digital the death threats she received and the fight to even get her medal from the Oregon School Activities Association.
While speaking to Perino, Anderson recalled the moment she decided to take her stand.
"It was a very stressful moment," Anderson said. "There were a lot of eyes on us. But in my heart, I knew that allowing biological men into women’s sports is not fair and I had to take a stand for that for all girls who had been affected by it."
She added that she wouldn’t have done anything differently.
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"While there has been a lot of negative talk and name calling, I have been overwhelmed with the support and kindness of so many people that it has been worth it. Just hope that we get change," she said.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
