Update: Facebook post on trans person sparks ire, action

Published 7:00 pm Sunday, June 11, 2023

PENDLETON — Tensions flared on the Facebook page “What’s Happening Pendleton” on Sunday, May 28, when Mary Bork posted a photo of text alleging a man entered the women’s locker room at the Roundup Athletic Club in Pendleton and watched children while they undressed.

Colby Bethany Olsen wrote the original post about taking three young girls swimming at the RAC, and as they were changing their clothes, she saw a man in his swim trunks in the women’s locker room.

“Just standing in the locker room … Watching … Not changing … Not passing through … Standing … Watching …,” according to the post.

She said she confronted the man, who told her, “I’m safer in this locker room.”

So she told the front desk, where staff told her rules allow people to use whichever locker room they want and staff can’t say anything about it.

“I now have to clear the changing room,” according to the post. “Looking for men who decided to use the women’s locker room … Before I can allow my babies to undress!?”

She has since updated the post to explain the person in the locker room was transgendered.

The East Oregonian has tried to contact Olsen for comment but has not received a response.

Post takes on new life

Mary Bork saw Olsen’s original post and said she had to find out what was going on. She said she asked staff at the athletic club, and they told her nothing would happen until the next meeting of the board of trustees of St. Anthony Hospital, which owns the club.

Bork said she found the response less than satisfying, but she asked the hospital next. Bork said the hospital told her it operated the locker rooms in accordance with Oregon law.

She said the RAC could have let the person use the locker room reserved for families.

“Why can’t transgenders people go in there where they can be alone and feel safe?” Bork suggested. “It’s not fair. If a person is going to look like a boy they need to use the boy’s locker room.”

Bork said she has been the victim of a trans person spying on her in a workplace restroom and she felt compelled to let the public know what happened in the locker room.

“All I wanted was for women and children to be safe,” she said.

To that end, as said she told the staff at the Roundup Athletic Club, she wanted to make Olsen’s post go viral. So she posted Olsen’s account on the popular local Facebook page “What’s Happening Pendleton.”

The post spread on Facebook, with locals sharing it over and over. The post also drew myriad comments. Many expressed dismay, others ire with how the Roundup Athletic Club and hospital operated the locker rooms, and some advocated for violence against the person at the center of the controversy.

Bork said while she wanted to draw attention to this, she stressed in no way did she advocate for violence.

“That’s not what I want,” she said. “I want even transgendered people to feel safe.”

Advocate steps in

Willa Wallace, co-founder of United Pendleton Pride, said the post prompted her to action.

“When I read the Facebook post I was concerned that it might involve someone from the queer community,” she said. “A lot of people were initially taking it to be a cisgender man was in the women’s locker room, but there were also comments in the post referring to the transgender community.”

Wallace said she then knew this was a dangerous situation, no matter the person’s gender.

“I became very concerned as I watched the posts and the comments,” she said. “It got to a point where it was very violent, and the reactions were violent, and those reactions were directed toward transgender individuals. Then I thought that we as UPP probably needed to do something, but I wasn’t sure what.”

Shortly after, the person who had been in the women’s locker room and encountered the mother and her children reached out to Wallace, who explained she immediately knew from previous encounters this was not a person who would act in a predatory fashion.

The person sat for an interview with Wallace and the East Oregonian but requested anonymity due to threatening posts. The East Oregonian did not agree to protect their anonymity and did not use their comments. But Wallace was on the record.

“They let me know exactly what had happened and who was involved,” Wallace said. “Which was heartbreaking to hear because then I knew this was a member of the transgender community just trying to exist, and that this person in the original post thought this was a predator that was among them.”

After understanding the situation, Wallace said her immediate response was to offer any support she could, including any other outside sources of assistance that could make a difference in a difficult situation like this.

“I contacted as many groups that we use as a resource to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and they wrote statements and provided numbers to (the person),” Wallace said. “Then we made a public statement on our Facebook and Instagram about the situation in order to garner more support. That’s the first thing you do when someone is under attack, you support them.”

Once support has been achieved, Wallace said, the only thing to do is to encourage the person affected to stop reading negative comments and to keep making positive statements on their behalf.

“First we make sure they’re safe, then we focus on public support because we want to send the message that (they were) within (their) rights, and for the public to know that (they were) within (their) rights,” Wallace said. “We as activists can only go so far before the attacks start on us. It’s heavy, and it’s not just me processing it, it’s other activists as well. We can’t respond to threats of violence.”

The person in the bathroom that day was within their rights as a member of the Roundup Athletic Club, Wallace said, and the RAC was aware of the situation previously to this incident and had agreed to accommodations. And Oregon has gender identity nondiscrimination laws that allow individuals not to disclose a binary gender assignment on records and drivers licenses.

RAC, hospital take to Facebook

“We are aware of a situation that occurred over the weekend at The Roundup Athletic Club,” CHI St. Anthony posted on its Facebook page on May 28. “First, we want to assure you that the safety and comfort of our members is our top priority. We temporarily closed our locker rooms while we gathered additional information and will be opening them back up.”

CHI St. Anthony and the RAC wrote that they confirmed the use of the RAC locker room is in accordance with Oregon law, which states individuals cannot be required to use a gender-segregated facility that is inconsistent with their gender identity.

“We respect and honor the rights of all our members and are committed to creating a safe environment for all,” CHI St. Anthony continued on Facebook. “For additional privacy, we encourage anyone to use one of our several private changing areas.”

Wallace explained the person and the mother were able to connect and find common ground, working together with the RAC to find a long-term solution, but mentioned that for now, the person is barred from entry into the RAC locker rooms.

Olsen posted an update on her Facebook page on May 27.

“This individual is actually a transgender person, they don’t deserve hate,” Olsen wrote in her Facebook post. “I truly thought there was a man in the locker room. Ignorance isn’t an excuse, only a chance to learn and grow.”

The East Oregonian requested comment from the Roundup Athletic Club. The RAC deferred to its owner, CHI St. Anthony Hospital, which referred to its post on Facebook.

Bork said out of all of this, what she wants is safe spaces for women and children and others, and men have no business being in women’s locker rooms or public restrooms.

“I want the bathrooms to be appropriate for whoever needs to use them to feel safe,” she said. “My purpose was not for people to attack someone, but for the establishments to make sure people are safe.”

“This individual is actually a transgender person, they don’t deserve hate. I truly thought there was a man in the locker room. Ignorance isn’t an excuse, only a chance to learn and grow.”

— Colby Bethany Olson, Facebook post