Michigan teen volleyball player files lawsuit after she unknowingly shared locker room with trans athlete

A 16-year-old Michigan volleyball player suing her school district says she was frightened to learn days after a match that a transgender athlete had allegedly shared the girls' locker room, telling Fox News Digital she had no idea at the time and now worries about the privacy of female athletes.

Briley Lechner, a varsity volleyball player at Monroe High School in West Monroe, Mich., said 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," Lechner told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday.

WOMEN WHO FACED BIOLOGICAL MALES IN GIRLS' SPORTS AND LOCKER ROOMS SPEAK OUT AHEAD OF WASHINGTON STATE VOTE Lechner said the experience left her feeling uncomfortable and disrespected, arguing that female athletes should be able to expect privacy in spaces designated for girls.

Lechner and her father, Sean, filed a federal lawsuit on Oct.

9, announced by the Thomas More Law Center , raising Title IX and constitutional claims against Monroe Public Schools, the Michigan High School Athletic Association and school officials over the alleged incident.

WASHINGTON FEMALE WRESTLER APPEALS TITLE IX CASE OVER ALLEGED ASSAULT BY TRANS OPPONENT TO NINTH CIRCUIT "I personally think that this is a very point-blank situation," Lechner said.

"I think it's very straightforward.

There should not be males competing in female sports, and so I realized that if my father and I just said, ‘OK, like whatever, you guys declined it, it is what it is, then nothing's going to change.'" The lawsuit alleges that school officials knowingly concealed from the Monroe High School girls’ volleyball team and their parents that a Sept.

9, 2025, match with Ann Arbor’s Skyline High School included a biological male, according to the Thomas More Law Center.

COLORADO SCHOOL PARENTS SOUND ALARM AFTER DAUGHTERS WERE CUT FROM VOLLEYBALL TEAM WHILE TRANS ATHLETE PLAYS The lawsuit also alleges that school officials defended their actions, dismissed the family's formal Title IX discrimination complaint and denied them a meaningful opportunity to appeal the decision.

Lechner said the lawsuit is so critical because fairness for women hangs in the balance.

"This is so important to me, and I want everyone to know that, because we play the sport, us female athletes play the sport, yes, for the sisterhood, yes, for the love of the game, but also girls take this seriously," Lechner said.

"Some girls want to play at a collegiate level, and so this is everyone's, like their life sometimes.