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Key Takeaways
- A trans athlete who goes by Sadie Schreiner sued Princeton University for removing him from a women's track meet shortly before the event, claiming this violated New Jersey's anti-discrimination law.
- Princeton University and several officials refuted the claims in the lawsuit, asserting that Schreiner was barred not due to 'gender identity' but to maintain the integrity of women's sports.
- Policy experts argue the lawsuit lacks merit, emphasizing the need to recognize biological differences and suggesting that courts should protect fair competition in sports.
A trans-identifying man recently filed a lawsuit against Princeton University, alleging he was illegally removed from a women’s track meet this year.
However, two policy experts told The College Fix that the lawsuit lacks merit.
The runner, who goes by Sadie Schreiner, claims he was unlawfully removed from the May race less than 15 minutes before he was set to compete.
Schreiner, who “transitioned” in high school and previously competed for Rochester Institute of Technology, was set to run the 200-meter race, according to WHYY.
He claims his removal violated New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law, which protects transgender individuals in public accommodations like schools.
Schreiner’s attorney filed a complaint in New Jersey Superior Court, naming the school, athletic director John Mack, and track operations director Kimberly Keenan-Kirkpatrick as defendants.
In court filings dated Aug. 22 and Aug. 25, Princeton and other defendants refuted the majority of the claims in Schreiner’s lawsuit, including the assertion that he was barred from running due to his “gender identity,” according to Princeton Alumni Weekly.
The lawsuit demands unspecified compensation for a “humiliating, dehumanizing and dignity-stripping ordeal.”
However, one policy expert told The College Fix via email “It’s not ‘dehumanizing’ to recognize biological reality or to protect the integrity of women’s sports.”
“As a male, Schreiner should not be competing in the female category, period. This is simple, common sense, and it’s absurd we are even debating it,” American Principles Project Policy Director Paul DuPont said.
He said he hopes the judiciary will protect female athletes’ right to their own competitions.
“However, New Jersey legislators have cemented gender ideology into many areas of the state’s law, so it’s difficult to say how this case will turn out,” DuPont said.
He said the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming rulings in women’s sports cases this fall will be telling. If the Court determines that Title IX prohibits men from participating in female athletics, it could impact this case in New Jersey.
Asked how universities like Princeton should approach transgender athlete policies, DuPont said they “should be focused on ensuring fair competition for all athletes, not on catering to the delusions of gender-confused individuals.”
“The Trump administration has made it clear that federal law requires schools receiving taxpayer funds to keep men out of women’s sports, and the vast majority of Americans agree with this stance. This should not be a difficult choice for Princeton,” he said.
Echoing Dupont, Ethics and Public Policy Center fellow Nathanael Blake told The College Fix via email Schreiner is wrong to assert his experience was “dehumanizing.”
“Our embodiment is integral to our humanity, and thus it is the denial of our existence as male and female that is dehumanizing,” he said.
Blake said he hopes the courts will recognize it is unfair to force men and women to compete against each other.
“There is nothing kind or loving about affirming lies that encourage people to harm themselves and others,” he said.
Blake also said Princeton “has a duty to the truth.”
He called on the school to acknowledge the reality of the differences between the sexes, and protect “female athletes from having to compete against men pretending to be women.”
Meanwhile, Susie Cirilli, the attorney representing Schreiner, told The Associated Press that she “stand[s] by the allegations in the pleading.”
“As stated in the complaint, the defendants’ individual actions were intolerable in a civilized community and go beyond the possible bounds of decency,” Cirilli said.
She also told PAW “gender identity and expression is a protected status under NJLAD.”
The College Fix reached out to Cirilli, Shreiner, Princeton media relations, Mack, and Keenan-Kirkpatrick via email but did not receive a response.
