(The Center Square) – Two months after Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal told The Center Square he would meet with two female athletes who’ve become the face of the effort to protects girls’ sports in Washington, Reykdal made good on that promise and met with the young women and their parents on Wednesday.
As previously reported by The Center Square, Reykdal has refused to comply with federal directives from the Trump administration to keep biological males out of girls’ sports and private spaces.
“If the law changes because our state courts strike it down or change it, we’re going to uphold the law,” Reykdal told The Center Square in January. “If a federal court does it and goes through the process, we’ll uphold the law.”
On Wednesday, 16-year-old Frances Staudt, a student at Tumwater High School, and 16-year-old Ahnaleigh Wilson, a student at Eastmont High School in Wenatchee, along with their parents, met with Reykdal in Tumwater. It was the first time the families have had the opportunity to share their story with the superintendent, who has been openly critical of them in public.
“I think it’s just important to show him that we’re not just going to back down,” said Ahnaleigh Wilson in an interview with The Center Square after the families met with Reykdal. “I think that’s kind of what he’s expecting, and I think he was honestly surprised that we haven’t stopped.”
Frances Staudt said one of the main things she hoped for was an apology from Reykdal for suggesting during an interview with The Center Square, that she had made derogatory statements about a male athlete she refused to play against in a Tumwater High School basketball game.
“Because of that I was investigated for harassment and bullying by the Tumwater School District and the WIAA,” Staudt said. “The words that I said that put me under this investigation and that he claimed were derogatory was ‘you’re a man’ and that was seen as an issue in the eyes of these people.”
Staudt said she pushed Reykdal about that in the Wednesday meeting.
“He said that he did not read up fully on the situation that he read it in the newspaper,” Staudt said. “And to have a state superintendent making these claims about me at the time, [when I was] a 15-year-old girl….that is awful to publicly say. And when I asked for an apology, he said that it would create more issues for him and I. And he wants to protect my safety.”
She pressed him further for an apology but did not receive one.
“And he said that he will think about it,” she said. “I think if you’re going to make these claims you might want to read up on the facts and if you say that you read it in the newspaper and aren’t completely sure of what happened, then I think you should be careful about going and saying that on a public platform about a 15-year-old girl who you’re supposed to be protecting.”
The girls’ parents also shared thoughts after the meeting with Reykdal.
“In this meeting I did bring up to all three of them sitting there that my prayer is that this doesn’t get worse,” Aimee Staudt said . “That one of these girls isn’t sexually assaulted, raped, or have something devastating and awful happen to them. Whether it’s a horrible injury on the court that they can’t recover from or something in the locker room or bathroom that takes place. I pity them if that ever does because there will be an army of people that will riseup and protect these girls like no one has ever seen before.”
Ahnaleigh’s mom, Elizabeth Wilson grew emotional, sharing about what their families have been through and her desire in the meeting for Reykdal to hear their hearts.
“We talked about how difficult the situation has been for all of our families,” said Wilson, adding she hopes Washington voters will support the initiative to protect girls sports come November. “It’s because they [the girls] know truth. They know what is right. And in this process, it’s been amazing to see other young girls, other parents finally speaking up. Before it was just Ahnaleigh as an eighth grader, 14 years old, to use her voice here in Washington State. And then Frances came and then we had more girls contacting us. These are our precious girls. We have a duty to back them up. It’s important. This is for your future daughters, and your granddaughters.”
The girls’ fathers told The Center Square they believe some parents are ‘redlining’ over this issue.
“At some point, if they’re watching this stuff happen, and it’s not being dealt with properly……the dads are going to…want to take matters into their own [hands]. It’s because we have these precious daughters that we spend all of our time trying to lead with love. And we see how they’ve been treated,” Jeff Staudt said. “I’ve had a couple times where I’ve wanted to go and have a talk. So, I’ll leave it at that. I think at some point, the threshold is going to be crossed. I don’t want to be threatening anyone, but that’s my daughter. I mean, we’ll lay down on train tracks for them.’
Ahnaleigh’s dad Brendon Wilson shared the same passion about protecting his daughter.
“Her courage has inspired me for sure. I don’t like to speak publicly. I don’t like to make a big deal about things. I’m usually pretty quiet about stuff, but this is the moment that I knew I couldn’t stand down and say, I’m just going to let this go. And her courage inspired me to stand behind her,” he said. “And knowing that as she continued to build her courage, that we could stand less in front of her and more allow her to be in front and lead. It has been a very difficult and challenging situation to go through, but also really inspiring to see how these girls have grown.”
During the February meeting, Reykdal told The Center Square he believes “rhetoric is harming the conversation.”
“These are all sincerely held beliefs on both sides of these issues, whether it’s transgender athletes or these things, these are sincerely held beliefs,” he added. “So, for folks on both sides of this conversation, my message to them is keep exercising your civic responsibility to speak out and share your beliefs. That’s what it’s about.”
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide by late June 2026 whether state bans on transgender athletes playing in female school sports violate Title IX or the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
