For Adaleia Cross, the legal battle over girls’ sports was never just about a court case. It was about what happened inside her own school after she spoke out.
Cross, a student at Bridgeport High School in West Virginia, says she experienced harassment, social isolation, and hostility after objecting to a male athlete competing on her school’s girls’ track team. Her family’s experience became part of the broader legal fight over West Virginia’s law restricting participation in girls’ sports based on biological sex—a dispute that ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
While the Court’s ruling marked a legal victory for supporters of the law, Cross says the personal cost has been substantial.
Earlier this year, her parents detailed their family’s experience in a USA Today opinion essay, describing why they chose to support the state’s law and recounting allegations that Cross had been sexually harassed by the male athlete. According to Fox News, Cross says the aftermath transformed her daily life at school.
“My homeroom teacher, who I’d had for two years, told me that she sees me as less of a person,” Cross said.
She also described the loss of friendships that had stretched back years.
“The hardest part of the whole situation for me has been losing friends that I’ve had for years,” she said. “I’ve been friends with these kids since middle school, early elementary school, and to watch as we get older, and we get into high school, they just want nothing to do with me.”
“People I love don’t want to talk to me now.”
The allegations have been disputed. The American Civil Liberties Union, which supported the student challenging West Virginia’s law, has said Cross’s harassment claims are false.
Adaleia Cross’ homeroom teacher said to her “I see you as less of a person” when she wore a t-shirt that said Save Women’s Sports.
How is a person like that allowed to be around kids? Just the worst kind of person. pic.twitter.com/jomgjueWjq
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) July 10, 2026
Cross is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, which says her account has remained consistent throughout multiple legal proceedings.
“Our client has sworn under oath and under penalty of perjury in numerous cases about the events that took place between her and the male athlete,” the organization said in a statement.
ADF also said Cross ultimately withdrew from the sport because she no longer felt safe.
According to the organization, she had to “step away from the sport she loved entirely and sacrifice a key element of her school experience to protect herself.”
Cross also expressed frustration with how school officials handled her complaint. She said administrators initially assured her they would investigate but then stopped communicating with her family.
“They told me they would do a full investigation into what I told them,” Cross said. “And then, all of a sudden, it was like nothing else was happening, it was done, and it seemed like they thought nothing of it because they didn’t talk to us about it at all.”
Beyond her own experience, Cross said many female athletes became uncomfortable after the male athlete was permitted to use the girls’ locker room.
“A lot of girls, after [the athlete] came into our locker room, started going to the bathroom,” she previously told Fox News. “They started changing in stalls, which was not really normal.”
She added that some teammates tried to avoid being near the athlete whenever possible, although that became difficult during competitions.
“You would have kids separated to try to not be around [the athlete], but it was still hard because during track meets, you had to be around [the athlete],” she said. “Girls were just uncomfortable.”
Cross also said it was difficult watching the athlete win a state championship before the Supreme Court issued its decision.
The girl behind BPJ v West Virginia deserves to be honored.
She was young and terrified. So she told God that if He wanted her to speak up, He’d have to make it clear.
The next morning, the verse of the day that popped up on her phone was Esther 4:14 — “Perhaps you were created… pic.twitter.com/EscFB2t1cD
— Moms for Liberty (@Moms4Liberty) July 10, 2026
“It was extremely frustrating for me and for I know several other girls,” she said.
“All of my friends that have been working to be at the top for years, they had the first place spot taken from them… and it’s just, it’s been really hard. Even though I’m not competing, I know the frustrations everybody else is having, and they stand no chance, and it’s not their fault, it’s biological reality.”
Throughout the controversy, Cross says her Christian faith gave her the resolve to continue speaking publicly despite the backlash.
“When I first had the option to stand up, I was 14, and I was terrified, and I didn’t really want to,” she said. “I told God that I would do it if He made it abundantly clear for me, and He did. He has showed up for me since.”
She recalled opening her Bible app the following day and seeing a verse that she believes confirmed her decision.
“The next day, I got on my phone, and the verse of the day on the Bible app was Esther 4:14, which is, ‘Perhaps you were created for such a time as this,’ and I knew that that was what He wanted me to be doing.”
According to Cross, that passage remained a source of encouragement throughout the lengthy legal battle.
“All throughout the case, that verse has been so prevalent in my life,” she said. “He has remained faithful.”
