Lawyer for trans athlete avoids questions about West Virginia AG’s comments on sexual harassment allegations

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Joshua Block avoided questions about a recent statement from West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey regarding harassment allegations 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 law that keeps biological males out of women’s sports, addressed the allegations at a news conference Monday.

“Any time you think about a child being bullied, it gives you pause as a parent. And it’s not really part of our case, but bullying 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 kids are not bullied anywhere, particularly in sports,” McCuskey said.

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

After the photo shoot, News Digital again pursued Block to ask him about McCuskey’s statement, but Block again walked away from questions with the attendees around him.

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

Cross’s mother, Abby, told 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 graphic and vulgar sexual threats to her daughter and other girls on the team.

The trans athlete’s legal representatives before 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 AC and found them to be unfounded. We remain committed to upholding the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment, free from harassment and discrimination,” said an ACLU statement provided to 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 regarding the events that took place between her and the male athlete. As a result of the situation, [Cross] “He had to completely step away from the sport he loved and sacrifice a key element of his school experience to protect himself,” said an ADF statement provided to News Digital.

The trans athlete personally denied the accusations. The New York Times in a story published Monday.

“I wasn’t raised like that,” the athlete said.

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

The Cross family said that when they reported the alleged harassment to the school, nothing was done to reprimand the trans athlete, as far as they knew.

“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 already done, and it seemed like they didn’t think about anything 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 seem like, ‘Yeah, it’s done.'”

His father, Holden Cross, said: “We received no response from the school after submitting the report.”

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 runner Emmy Salerno alleges that the trans athlete used “intimidation tactics” against her after Salerno refused to compete against the trans athlete during an event in the spring 2024 season.

Salerno’s protest occurred 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 women’s shot put competition that day at a local competition. Salerno claims her team was disqualified from the next meet and then began facing intimidating looks from the trans athlete at public events.

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

Salerno also provided News Digital with a screenshot of a Snapchat post, which appeared to have been sent by the trans athlete, showing a photo of Salerno with a caption that reads, “Remember 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, giving her intimidating looks, and Salerno was concerned that the trans athlete would try to “fight” her.

“At the basketball game, when he followed me around, I thought, ‘Is he going to try to fight me?'” Salerno said. “‘Are you going to try to sneak up behind me and hit me?'”

Salerno and his father say they believe the stares, following patterns and social media posts were “intimidation tactics” and that there have been “persistent 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 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 make a public outcry, she told her coach not to include her in the lineup for meets against the trans athlete to avoid a team penalty.

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

“During track season, this is talked about more,” Salerno said of the sexual harassment allegations. “I heard at my school that people were talking about it.”

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