A Vermont Christian prep school forfeited a girls’ playoff basketball game in the state championship after discovering that the opposing team had a transgender player on its roster.
The Mid Vermont Christian School girls’ team, the Eagles, was scheduled to face the Long Trail Mountain Lions in game four of the playoffs last week before the Christian school dropped out, 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 opposing team.
In a statement to Fox newsFogg wrote: “We have withdrawn from the tournament because we believe that playing against an opponent with a biological male compromises the fairness of the game and the safety of our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 was eliminated from the state championship playoffs because a transgender student played on the opposing team
State law in Vermont prohibits discrimination against student-athletes based on their gender identity and says any dispute over a student’s ability to play must be handled on a case-by-case basis.
The team’s forfeit sent the Long Trail Mountain Lions to the quarterfinals, where they lost to No. 4 Arlington, according to local outlets.
State law in Vermont prohibits discrimination against student-athletes based on their gender identity and says any dispute over a student’s ability to play because their biological sex does not match their gender identity must be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The state’s education bureau says best practice is that transgender and non-conforming students have “the same opportunities to participate in physical education as all other students.”
‘In general, it should be possible for students 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 recommended 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 filed a letter asking the agency for permission to continue receiving public tuition fees, while also arguing that it should not follow all of the state’s anti-discrimination laws because it is a religious organization .
“As a religious organization, the school has a legal and constitutional right to make decisions based on its religious beliefs, including the hiring and discipline of employees, dealings with others, and in its admissions, conduct, and operating policies and procedures,” Fogg wrote in a letter in early January.
“By signing this form, the Mid Vermont Christian School is not waiving any such rights,” she wrote, adding that to the extent state laws conflict with the school’s views on “marriage and sexuality,” the school “those language in its handbook or online, nor can it confirm that specific aspect of the Vermont Public Accommodation Act.”
The state’s progressive stance on the issue has led before.
Last fall, a girls’ soccer coach at a Vermont high school was suspended last fall after “misrepresenting” a trans student on a private social media account while defending his daughter, who had spoken out against a biologically male player in the girl’s dressing room.
Blake Allen, 14, was suspended from Randolph Union High School after calling a biologically male student, who identifies as female, a “dude” (Photo: Blake and her dad Travis)
Blake Allen previously spoke out against an unidentified transgender student who used 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 from his job as the girls’ soccer coach without pay for calling the biologically male student, who identifies as a transgender girl, “a man.”
“I’m suspended for expressing 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 of me, I think most people and the school are too, they’re just too scared to speak up because they see all the backlash I’m getting for it.”
Travis said, “I posted a social media post calling the male student a man and I was chastised for that. Because I misrepresented him.’
Blake then informed Carlson that the school lifted its suspension shortly after their lawsuit was filed. It’s not immediately clear whether the school was aware of the lawsuit when it lifted the suspension.
“I don’t want other girls to feel uncomfortable about it,” Blake added. “I think everyone should just be able to change in a dressing room in which they were born. If you were born a girl, you can go to the girls’ locker room and get out when you’re done. It should be simple and it isn’t anymore.’