Transgender sprinter Sadie Schreiner and her attorney, Susie Cirilli, have filed a lawsuit against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, alleging the school discriminated against her by blocking her from competing in a women’s track meet eight months ago.
In the lawsuit filed Friday in Rensselaer County Supreme Court, Schreiner claims RPI violated New York’s Human Rights Law when it refused to let her run in the women’s 200-meter and 400-meter events at the school’s “Under the Lights Invitational,” a two-day meet held in April.
According to the filing, on April 8, Schreiner registered as an “unattached” runner through the website Direct Athletics, meaning she is not affiliated with any school or organization, and paid a $44 entry fee.
The next day, RPI’s general counsel emailed her to say she could not participate in the meet because of “Executive Order 14201,” referring to President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking transgender athletes from women’s sports. In addition, the school referenced the U.S. Department of Education and its stance that it “intends to vigorously enforce this Executive Order under Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972.”
“RPI cannot accommodate your request to compete at this meet,” the school’s counsel said in the complaint.
However, Schreiner and her attorneys argue that gender identity or expression is protected under state law, and that RPI violated Schreiner’s right by following an executive order that can’t supersede a state law.
The law, known as NY. Exec. §292(35) states, “a person’s actual or perceived gender-related identity appearance, behavior, expression, or other gender-related characteristic, regardless of the sex assigned to that person at birth, including, but not limited to, the status of being transgender.”
Cirilli, Schreiner’s attorney, said in the filing that the institution “maliciously, willfully, and recklessly discriminated” against Schreiner and denied her the use of public facilities available to others.
“We stand by the allegations in the complaint. RPI chose to disregard state law,” Cirilli said in a statement to The Athletic. “RPI discriminated against Sadie, citing the Executive Order and their fear of the Department of Education.”
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case highlights growing tension between federal policy and state anti-discrimination laws, particularly with NCAA schools opting to follow Trump’s ban issued on Feb. 6 instead of state laws. On Feb. 5, the Office of Attorney General and State Education Department released a joint statement regarding transgender rights one day before Trump’s policy went into effect, warning people concerned about the executive order.
“We write to inform you that these EOs do not affect the rights of transgender students and individuals in New York’s public schools,” the statement said. “The EOs restrict the meaning of ‘sex’ in Title IX to exclude gender identity. The President cannot do that unilaterally. This would require an act of Congress — or, at minimum, notice and comment rulemaking.”
Schreiner seeks punitive and emotional distress damages as well as attorneys’ fees, and has requested a jury trial.
Schreiner is also suing SUNY Geneseo, members of its athletic department and the NCAA after she was barred from a meet in March as previously reported. Schreiner and Cirilli also explicitly cite New York’s state law in that case.