A Christian prep school in Vermont forfeited a playoff girls basketball game in the state championship tournament after discovering the opposing team had a transgender player on the roster.
The Mid Vermont Christian School girls team, the Eagles, were set to face off against the Long Trail Mountain Lions in the fourth game of the playoffs last week before the Christian school dropped out, therefore giving up its place in the tournament.
The head of the institution, Vicky Fogg, said it would be unfair and unsafe for the high school girls to play against a biologically male player on the other team.
In a statement to Fox News, Fogg wrote: ‘We withdrew from the tournament because we believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players.
‘Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.’
A shot of the Mid Vermont Christian School girls varsity basketball team, which dropped out of the state championship playoffs because a transgender student was playing on the opposing team
State law in Vermont prohibits discrimination against student athletes on the basis of their gender identity and says that any dispute over a student’s ability to play must be considered on a case-by-case basis
The team’s forfeit sent the Long Trail Mountain Lions to the quarterfinals, during which they lost to No. 4 seed Arlington, according to local outlets.
State law in Vermont prohibits discrimination against student athletes on the basis of their gender identity and says that any dispute over a student’s ability to play because their biological gender doesn’t match their gender identity must be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The state’s Education Agency says that best practice entails providing transgender and gender nonconforming students ‘the same opportunities to participate in physical education as are all other students.’
‘Generally, students should be permitted to participate in physical education and sports in accordance with the student’s gender identity. Participation in competitive athletic activities and sports will be resolved on a case-by-case basis.’
The agency also advised that transgender students should not be required to use the bathroom or locked room ‘that conflicts with the student’s gender identity.’
Earlier this year, the Mid Vermont Christian School submitted a letter the agency seeking permission to continue receiving public tuition funding, while also arguing that it should not have to follow all of the state’s anti-discrimination laws because it is a religious organization.
‘As a religious organization, the school has a statutory and constitutional right to make decisions based on its religious beliefs, including hiring and disciplining employees, associating with others, and in its admissions, conduct and operations policies and procedures,’ wrote Fogg in an early January letter.
‘By signing this form, the Mid Vermont Christian School does not waive any such rights,’ she wrote, adding that to the extent that state laws conflict with the school’s beliefs on ‘marriage and sexuality,’ the school ‘has not included that language in its handbook or online, nor can it affirm that particular aspect of the Vermont Public Accommodations Act.’
The state’s progressive stance on the issue has caused before.
Last year, a Vermont middle school girls soccer coach was suspended last fall after ‘misgendering’ a trans student on a private social media account as he defended his daughter, who had spoken out against a biologically male player being in the girls locker room.
Blake Allen, 14, was suspended from Randolph Union High School after she called a biologically male student, who identifies as a female, a ‘dude’ (pictured: Blake and her father Travis)
Blake Allen previously spoke out against an unidentified transgender student using the girls’ locker rooms at her Vermont high school
Blake Allen, 14, was suspended from Randolph Union High School and her father Travis Allen was fired without pay from his job as the girls’ soccer coach for calling the biologically male student, who identifies as a transgender girl, ‘a male.’
‘I was suspended because I voiced my opinion that a man shouldn’t be in the women’s locker room,’ Blake told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.
‘A lot of my classmates were supportive, I think most people and the school are, they are just too scared to speak up because they see all the backlash I’m getting for it.’
Travis said: ‘I made a social media post that referred to the male student as a male and I was punished because of it. Because I misgendered him.’
Blake then informed Carlson that the school lifted her suspension shortly after their lawsuit was filed. It is not immediately clear whether the school was aware of the lawsuit when it lifted the suspension.
‘I don’t want other girls to have to feel uncomfortable about it,’ Blake added. ‘I think everyone should be able to just get changed in a locker room that they were born as. If you were born a girl, you can go in the girls’ locker room, get out when you’re done. It should be simple and it’s not anymore.’
