ACLU attorney dodges harassment questions about transgender athlete at SCOTUS

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Joshua Block walked away from questions regarding a recent statement by West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey addressing allegations of harassment against Block’s client, a transgender athlete from West Virginia. 

McCuskey, who is leading his state’s legal defense against the trans athlete after the athlete sued to block the state’s law to keep biological males out of girls’ sports, addressed the allegations at a press conference Monday. 

“Any time you think of a child being harassed, it gives you pause as a parent. And it isn’t really part of our case, but harassment of any child of any kind in this country is inappropriate. And it’s wrong, and we all need to stand up to ensure that children aren’t being harassed in any of their venues, particularly athletics,” McCuskey said. 

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Fox News Digital attempted to question Block about McCuskey’s statement after oral arguments for the case at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but Block walked away from the first wave of questioning to take a picture with his team and client.

After the photo-op, Fox News Digital again pursued Block to inquire about McCuskey’s statement, but Block again walked away from the questions with assistants shrouding him. 

The allegations were leveled against the trans athlete by Bridgeport High School student Adaleia Cross, who was a track and field teammate of the trans athlete when the two were at Bridgeport Middle School.

Cross’ mother, Abby, told Fox News Digital what the trans athlete allegedly said to her daughter when they shared the girls’ locker room during the 2022-23 school year. Adaleia was in eighth grade, and the trans athlete was in seventh. Abby Cross alleges the trans athlete made extremely graphic and vulgar sexual threats to her daughter and other girls on the team.

The trans athlete’s legal representatives at the American Civil Liberties Union denied the allegations. 

“Our client and her mother deny these allegations and the school district investigated the allegations reported to the school by A.C. and found them to be unsubstantiated. We remain committed to defending the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment free from harassment and discrimination,” read an ACLU statement provided to Fox News Digital.

The Cross family’s attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) responded to the ACLU’s statement.

“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. As a result of the situation, [Cross] had to step away from the sport she loved entirely and sacrifice a key element of her school experience to protect herself,” read an ADF statement provided to Fox News Digital. 

The trans athlete personally denied the allegations to The New York Times in a story that was published Monday.

“I was not raised like that,” the athlete said.

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The outlet obtained a letter from the Harrison County School District, stating an investigation determined Cross’s allegations “could not be substantiated.” 

The Cross family said when they reported the alleged harassment to the school, nothing was done to reprimand the trans athlete, to their knowledge.

“They told me they would do a full investigation into what I told them,” Adaleia 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, they just left it there and didn’t tell us anything else, so it just made it seemed like, yup it’s done.”

Her father, Holden Cross said, “We received no response from the school after filing the report.”

Fox News Digital made repeated requests to the ACLU and the Harrison County School District, which oversees Bridgeport Middle School and Bridgeport High School, seeking documentation related to the school’s investigation and clarification on whether an investigation occurred and, if so, why only the Cross family was not notified of the results. Those requests have not been met.

Meanwhile, former Lincoln Middle School girls’ track and field runner Emmy Salerno alleges the trans athlete used “intimidation tactics” against her after Salerno refused to compete against the trans athlete during an event in the 2024 spring season.

Salerno’s protest came on April 18, 2024, when she and the trans athlete were in eighth grade. Salerno, along with four other girls, refused to compete in the girls’ shot put competition that day at a local meet. Salerno claims her team was disqualified from the following meet, and then began to face intimidating stares from the trans athlete at public events.

“After we stepped out, it was an immediate personality change. He didn’t want to talk to me. He just wanted to stare at me, and just stare down,” Salerno told Fox News Digital. 

Salerno has also provided Fox News Digital a screenshot of a Snapchat post, which appeared to be sent by the trans athlete, showing a photo of Salerno with a caption that reads, “Reminder that she has more testosterone than me.”

Salerno said there was an incident where the trans athlete followed her while they were at a local basketball game, making intimidating stares, and Salerno was concerned the trans athlete would try to “fight” her.

“At the basketball game when he just followed me everywhere, I kind of felt like, ‘Is he gonna try to fight me?’” Salerno said. “‘Is he going to try and sneak up behind me and punch me?'” 

Salerno and her father say they believe the stares, following patterns and social media posts were “intimidation tactics,” and there have been “lingering discomforts” stemming from the situation.

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“I’ve always tried to avoid him everywhere I went,” Salerno added.

The ACLU has not responded to Fox News Digital’s request for a response to Salerno’s allegations. 

Salerno said she avoided competing against the trans athlete the following season, but rather than making a public protest, she simply told her coach to not include her in the lineup for the meets against the trans athlete to avoid penalty to the team.

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Salerno claims she has also heard other girls in the community speak about the sexual harassment allegations made by Cross against the trans athlete. Salerno said she herself has never been in a locker room or bathroom with the trans athlete. 

“Around track season, it gets more talked about,” Salerno said of the sexual harassment allegations. “I heard through my school, people were talking about it.” 

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