Michigan Teen Sues Over Locker Room She Says She Unknowingly Shared With a Transgender Opponent
Sixteen-year-old Briley Lechner and her father filed a federal Title IX suit against Monroe Public Schools and the state athletic association; the district says it has not been served.
A Michigan high school volleyball player says she was kept in the dark about who was sharing her team's locker room, and she is taking her school district to federal court.
Briley Lechner, 16, plays varsity volleyball at Monroe High School. She told Fox News Digital that she and her teammates routinely changed clothes, took pictures and recorded videos in the locker room without knowing that a transgender athlete from the opposing team was allegedly present. "What's very scary is that the day that this happened, I had no clue that there was a boy on the other team," she said.
Lechner and her father, Sean, filed the federal lawsuit Oct. 9, and the Thomas More Law Center announced it. It raises Title IX and constitutional claims against Monroe Public Schools, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) and school officials. It alleges officials knew a Sept. 9, 2025, match against Ann Arbor's Skyline High School involved a biological male and hid that from the team and parents. It also alleges the district dismissed the family's formal Title IX complaint and denied them a meaningful appeal.
"If my father and I just said, 'OK, whatever, you guys declined it,' then nothing's going to change," Lechner said. She said girls take their sport seriously, and some hope to play in college. Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center, called the case about "whether public school officials can, with deliberative indifference, knowingly sacrifice the rights of female athletes to accommodate a biological male athlete."
Both defendants responded to Fox. Monroe Superintendent Andrew Shaw said the district is aware of reports of an alleged lawsuit but "has not been served," and that it is committed to following state and federal law and student safety. The MHSAA said its policy has long been "fully compliant with federal and state law," that it believes the claims are "legally unsound," and that it will defend itself in court.
These are allegations in a complaint. No court has ruled, and Fox's report does not include a statement from the Skyline player or that school. The case will turn on how the court reads Title IX and the state athletic association's policy.