One Girl Takes a Stand - 10/15/26

A 16-year-old Michigan volleyball player files a Title IX lawsuit over a male opponent. The Thomas Moore Law Center filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of 10th grader Briley Lechner and her father, Sean Lechner, alleging school officials in Monroe, Michigan violated her rights by knowingly allowing her to compete against a male athlete and allowing him to use the girls' locker room facilities without the girls' or her parents' knowledge. The suit alleges that Monroe's athletic director and coaching staff knew a day before the match that Skyline's team included a male who identifies as a transgender female, but did not inform Monroe's players or their parents.

Briley Lechner said, My goal is to preserve opportunities and safety for female athletes, ensuring that sports remains a place where girls can compete fairly, achieve their potential, and feel safe. Best of luck to you, Briley. In other news, a teacher in England sues her school after being fired for telling a student she is pro-life. Today is also the feast. of St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun, a prominent Spanish mystic, and spiritual reformer. Teresa was active during the Counter-Reformation and became the central figure of a movement of spiritual and monastic renewal.

I'm Josh Mercer, editor of The Loop, taking you behind the headlines. Go to zeal.co for the rest of today's Loop, and while you're at it, subscribe to get The Loop in your inbox every morning. Again, that's zeal.co.