Monroe dad files complaint with feds over daughter’s trans competitor

The father of a Monroe High varsity volleyball player has filed a Title IX complaint against the district, charging that his daughter and others on her team were denied a chance to compete fair and square against another team because the other team had a transgender girl on its roster. He also said girls on his daughter’s team were forced to use the same locker room as the transgender player.

Sean Lechner, whose complaint was also directed at the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the state education department and the U.S. Department of Education, said the girls on his daughter’s team were not informed ahead of their September match against Ann Arbor Skyline High that one of their opponents was a transgender girl.

Lechner’s daughter, Briley Lechner, a sophomore on the Monroe varsity volleyball team, said the incident “was definitely very devastating for all of us girls. … This person disguised themselves to look female. So when we found out after, weeks after, that there was another male in the same locker room as us as we were changing and also playing with us, it caught everyone off guard.”

Briley Lechner said she did not see the transgender student in question in the locker room.

Sean Lechner and others, including Republican state legislators and candidates for office, who spoke at a Dec. 8 press conference in Monroe called for a ban on allowing transgender girls to participate in girls sports, saying they have an unfair advantage against cis-gender girls, or girls whose gender identity aligns with the gender they were assigned at birth.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association issues waivers for transgender girls on a case-by-case basis. Geoff Kimmerly, MHSAA spokesman, said the organization, which governs high school sports in Michigan, issued a waiver for a fall 2025 transgender athlete.

Citing privacy rules, he would not identify the athlete’s team or the sport she played.

Kimmerly said schools are not required to inform opponents they have a transgender athlete on their team. Providing such information by a school or the MHSAA would be a violation of privacy rules.

In a prepared statement, Kimmerly said: “The MHSAA has communicated with members of the state legislature about this issue, as the legal landscape in this area – under both federal and state law – remains unsettled, and state and federal guidance have evolved in recent years often in competing ways.

“From our conversations with legislators, we know elected leaders from both parties recognize that the current issues surrounding eligibility and participation of transgender students remain subject to ongoing legal debate. The MHSAA has consistently emphasized that it must follow the law, and when conflicts in law arise, the MHSAA must rely upon the legislature or the courts to provide clarity.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments on a case involving athletics and transgender participation for Jan. 13, 2026, and we hope that decision provides clearer guidance for our membership moving forward. We additionally await any changes from Michigan’s legislature on this issue.”

Said Erin Knott, executive director of Equality Michigan, a LGBTQ+ advocacy organization: “Title IX was written to protect students from discrimination and so that all girls can play sports. The law was never intended to force schools to disclose private information about children.

“Parents may have questions, but that doesn’t mean they can pressure schools to confirm or deny whether a student is transgender. Trans students have been participating in team sports for decades in Michigan, learning the same things all students learn about teamwork, dedication, and hard work.”

Lechner’s supporters said President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender girls from participating in girls sports is the law of the land and that the MHSAA is hiding behind Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

Contact Georgea Kovanis: gkovanis@freepress.com