Parent files complaint after trans athlete shares locker room with daughter

The father of a volleyball player on Monday urged the Trump administration to intervene after a trans athlete shared a locker room with his daughter and competed against her in volleyball in Michigan high school.

“It’s simple, women play women’s sports,” Sean Lechner told a crowd at a press conference on a cold December afternoon.

Sean was joined by his daughter, Brielle Lechner, in Central Monroe high schoolThe volleyball team, several Republican elected officials and political candidates took to the stage near City Hall to announce a complaint to federal authorities.

The complaint addressed players on the Monroe High School volleyball team, including Briley, being forced to compete and “undress” in the same locker room as a biological man.

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Fox News Digital obtained a copy of Shawn’s formal complaint filed with Department of Education Dec. 5, 2025, states, “Parents should have confidence that school administrators prioritize the safety, privacy, fair treatment, and equity of female athletes.” The complaint was also filed with the Michigan Department of Education, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), and Monroe Public Schools. The Michigan Department of Education told OutKick that it “has received the complaint and is reviewing it.”

The father of a volleyball player is urging the Trump administration to intervene after a trans athlete shared a locker room with his daughter and competed with her in volleyball. (Fox News Digital)

The students were unaware they would be sharing a locker room with a transgender athlete, the complaint stated.

“It was not disclosed that a man was in the girls’ locker room prior to the game, which constitutes a violation of the rules,” the complaint states. privacy and protect physical integrity under Title IX.”

The Department of Education is investigating several schools across the country for Title IX violations related to transgender athletes, but none of those investigations have included schools in Michigan. Lechner filed the complaint in hopes of changing that.

Lechner’s statements during the press conference called for Ann Arbor Skyline High School to include a biological athlete on its girls’ high school volleyball team, “putting female athletes at risk and exposing them to loss of privacy, safety and dignity.”

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The Skyline girls volleyball team had a transfer athlete in the starting lineup and ended up making the Michigan State Division I quarterfinals. The athlete earned First Team All-Conference honors.

Sean was joined by his daughter, Brielle Lechner, a midfielder on the Monroe High School volleyball team, and several other Republican elected officials and political candidates on a stage near Monroe, Michigan’s city hall, to announce a complaint to federal authorities.

Under MHSAA guidelinesa transgender athlete born male who wants to compete on a high school girls’ team, needs to apply for and receive a waiver. The MHSAA confirmed to Fox News Digital that it has granted one eligibility waiver under its transgender student policy, statewide, for the 2025-26 fall sports season.

An MHSAA spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “We did not and cannot identify the school or its sport, as that would identify the information, ignoring student privacy laws. The waiver was granted pursuant to applicable state and federal law. The MHSAA is obligated to follow both, even as state law and federal guidance have evolved in recent years, often in competing ways.”

Laura Perry, a candidate for Michigan’s 31st House District, said the waiver process “should be repealed because it is in direct conflict with federal law.”

Perry told reporters that they are calling on the US Department of Education and the Trump administration to “act quickly in this way.”

“Women’s sports should be separated by biological sex. The federal executive order is being ignored,” Perry said.

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Laura Perry, a candidate for state representative serving Monroe County, called on the US Department of Education and the Trump administration to “act quickly in this way.” (Getty Images)

“One Michigan waiver, one displaced athlete on a varsity roster or starting lineup, one player in the game selected by a biological male, and one team advancing to the Elite Eight in the MHSAA Tournament due to having a male is too many,” Berry added.

“When we discovered weeks later that there was another man in the same dressing room as us, where we were changing and also playing against us, it surprised everyone,” Briley said on stage when asked how she felt about the incident by another reporter. “That would have been the last thought because when I was looking at this guy, admiring how good he was, admiring how much he could jump, I was kind of wrapped up in myself, like wondering why I couldn’t do it.”

The MHSAA told Fox News Digital that they have been in conversations with members of the Michigan Legislature throughout the fall about the issue.

“From those conversations, we know that elected leaders from both parties recognize that current issues surrounding the 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 the law arise, the MHSAA must rely on the Legislature or the courts to provide clarity,” an MHSAA spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The Department of Education, Michigan Department of Education and Monroe Public Schools did not immediately respond Fox News DigitalRequest for comment.