Oregon athletes win 'Most Valuable Patriot' award after refusing to share podium with trans competitor

Track stars and 'Most Valuable Patriot' award winners Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard join 'Fox & Friends' to address backlash for refusing to share a podium with a biological male and discuss their ongoing fight to protect women’s rights in sports.

Two Oregon female athletes were honored at the seventh annual Fox Nation Patriot Awards on Thursday night for their decision to speak out in support of women’s rights in sports after refusing to stand on a podium alongside a transgender opponent — a decision neither girl realized would become part of the national discourse.

Alexa Anderson, a freshman competing in the pole vault at the University of South Alabama, and Reese Eckard, a member of the Biola University women’s track and field team, were awarded the "Most Valuable Patriot Award" at Thursday night’s ceremony in Brookville, New York, after they refused to stand on the podium in the Oregon State Activities Association’s girls high jump final in May, after a transgender student placed fifth in the event.

Oregon girls' track and field athlete Alexa Anderson. (Courtesy of Alexa Anderson)

In a lawsuit filed after the incident, the girls claimed they were excluded from official photos and that their medals were withheld.

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"I’m so incredibly grateful, and none of this would've been possible without the support of every single one of you who has seen our story, who has shared it and brought our story and our fight into the national spotlight," Anderson said during her acceptance speech.

"I want to start off by thanking God. I thank God that you’re all here tonight. I thank God that He gave Alexa and I the courage to stand for truth," Eckard added in hers. "There are so many