Teen track runner sues California over being replaced by a trans athlete and being compared to a Nazi

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA: Taylor Starling, a 16-year-old cross country runner at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, is at the center of a federal lawsuit that’s stirring national debate over gender identity, free speech, and girls’ sports.

Starling, alongside her teammate Kaitlyn Slavin, initially filed a suit last November against the Riverside Unified School District, Brietbart reported.

Teen runner claims she was benched to make room for trans athlete

Now, the lawsuit has taken a bold step forward, naming California Attorney General Rob Bonta as a defendant.

At the heart of the case is Starling’s removal from her varsity team, a decision she said was made to accommodate a transgender athlete.

"I felt angry when I was removed from my varsity team because I knew the requirements were changed for him because he is transgender," Starling told Fox Digital.

"I felt like my sacrifice, hard work, and dedication didn’t matter to my school administrators because I am a girl. It was easy for them to push me aside and that hurt."

Track runner’s lawsuit targets California school district for alleged Title IX breach

The lawsuit aims to challenge what Starling and Slavin allege is a violation of Title IX, the federal law guaranteeing equal treatment for female athletes.

The suit asks the court to declare that the school district has “violated Title IX by failing to provide equal treatment, benefits and opportunities for girls in athletic competition.”

The legal challenge follows a February executive order from President Donald Trump, which mandates that federally funded schools must have athletes compete in alignment with their biological sex, not gender identity.

Additionally, the lawsuit addresses the school's speech code, specifically targeting a policy that bans clothing “likely to create a hostile or intimidating environment based on any protected class.”

Starling believes this rule was used to silence her voice.

Teen runner called ‘Nazi’ for wearing ‘Save Girls Sports’ shirt

Starling and other students began wearing “Save Girls Sports” T-shirts to school, making a statement in support of biological sex-based competition.

But the response from administrators was swift and severe. The school banned the shirts in November, claiming they were inappropriate and inflammatory.

The situation escalated when the school's athletic director reportedly said the shirts were “analogous to a student who wore a shirt with a swastika in front of a Jewish student,” and compared the wearers to “Nazis.”

Starling called the comparison shocking, but ultimately mobilizing.

“I’ve already been called that by the athletic director, so by now, I’m kind of used to it,” she said.

“But it was a shock to everyone else, because he was also calling everyone else Nazis. So, I think that caused a big reaction from everybody, and they were more willing to speak up against that.”

Taylor Starling pushes forward with lawsuit

Earlier this month, Starling took her case to state lawmakers, offering public testimony on the issue.

But her words did not shift the political tide.

As Breitbart reported, the California legislature rejected two bills aimed at banning transgender women from participating in women’s sports, with some lawmakers labeling the bills “cruel.”

Still, Starling stands firm in her belief that fairness in sports has been compromised.

As the legal process unfolds, Starling is not backing down.

And she’s not alone. “My family and friends also have my back,” she said.