Transgender runner Sadie Schreiner has filed a lawsuit against Princeton University after the school kept him out of a women’s race on May 3.
Schreiner’s suit accuses the school explicitly of informing him that he would not be able to compete in the Larry Ellis Invitational, a 200-meter women’s race. The transgender runner was registered to compete as one of over 100 athletes not officially affiliated with a school.
“I do not want to assume, but you are transgender,” a Princeton official allegedly told Schreiner.
“The actions of the two Princeton officials were in blatant and willful disregard of Sadie’s rights based on Sadie’s rights as a transgender woman under controlling New Jersey law, thereby causing Sadie Shreiner to foreseeable emotional and physical harm,” the suit states.
Specifically, Schreiner’s suit accuses Princeton of violating New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination, a statute that categorizes gender identity and expression as a protected status.
Schreiner gained national attention for dominating female opponents while running for the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) women’s track and field team. However, that run came to an end after the NCAA revised its gender eligibility policy in keeping with President Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order.
“We continue to follow the NCAA participation policy for transgender student-athletes following the Trump administration’s executive order. Sadie is not participating in the next meet,” RIT said in a statement explaining their action against Schreiner on February 12.
Less than a month later, on March 1, Schreiner not only competed in a women’s race but also took first place in both the 400-meter and 200-meter races at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Open Masters Championships.
The 400-meter victory was achieved by default, as the other competitors chose not to participate.
However, weeks after that event, Schreiner posted a video to Instagram saying that his March 1 race would likely be her last for USATF.
“I very likely just ran what will be my last meet in the United States,” Schreiner said. “I will find a way to keep competing, but I doubt that will be in the United States.”
Schreiner claims that USATF switched their gender policy from the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) guidelines, which allowed men to compete in women’s sports. To the policy adopted by World Athletics, which forbids any athlete who has undergone male puberty from competing as a woman.
