A Vermont Christian school that is barred from participating in the state sports league after it withdrew its high school girls basketball team from a playoff game because a transgender student was playing on the opposing team has taken its case to a federal appeals court.
Mid Vermont Christian School, of Quechee, forfeited the Feb. 21, 2023, game, saying it believed that the transgender player jeopardized “the fairness of the game and the safety of our players.”
The executive council of the Vermont Principals’ Association, which governs school sports and activities, ruled the following month that the school had violated the council’s policies on race, gender and disability awareness, and therefore was ineligible to participate in future games.
Good on the education department to stand firm on this… it is kind of hilarious that this Christian school is giving a hack to any competing teams - a transgender team member would guarantee victory simply due to the sheer power of trans…
But it’s also super shitty for them to refuse to play and further feelings of isolation that most trans teenagers struggle with.
As always, fuck Christians… the best of them are unoffensive but there are so many shitty ones.
Hilarious alternative response, allow them to play technically, but every single team now mysteriously has 1 trans member. Oh, so sorry, looks like we have no teams you’re eligible to play against, it’s an automatic loss, better luck next season.
D-d-d-DISQUALIFIED Buzzer sounds before the game even starts
On the one hand, hilarious.
On the other hand, I can totally see someone making the claim that this provides evidence of an unfair advantage for trans girls.
I uh… hmm… I got nothing, you’re probably right unfortunately.
I wonder how many of those girls were excited to compete until some adult pulled them out because of the No Good Very Bad Unfair Unsafe Trans Girl. While I don’t doubt there are teenage transphobes, most of the teenagers I went to school with (Catholic school) or know tangentially have way bigger problems, like zits and algebra homework.
All because the school was afraid of some trans girl, who statistically speaking, probably wasn’t even one of their best players. The school’s transphobia did presumably hurt the trans student they targeted, but I’m guessing they hurt a lot more cis female athletes, on their own team especially. I hope any of those students who may have been transphobic see how it hurt them more than the trans student, and it gets them thinking…
But the Christian school can say “The trans girl deprived you of your playoff! He is evil, see?” to their team.
Complete bullshit, but some of them might swallow it, and become conservatives or TERFs or other anti-trans.
That’s true, bigots will always offer a road deeper into their beliefs, and you can’t stop them. But I think here the road out is a bit more visible than usual. It feels like a seed of doubt could be planted in some heads, which is something.
“No religious school or their students and parents should be denied equal access to publicly available benefits simply for holding to their religious beliefs,” Ryan Tucker, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement.
When your beliefs are outmoded and harmful to innocent students you’re wrong and you aren’t a part of the society we are building. Ostracization is appropriate.
In June, a federal judge in Vermont denied a request by the school and some students and parents to be readmitted to the state sports association. U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford wrote that the state is unlikely to be found to have violated the school’s First Amendment rights, including its right to free exercise of religion, because it applies its athletic policy uniformly and doesn’t target religious organizations for enforcement or discrimination.
Good. Go play in a league for hateful bigots and leave everyone else alone. Also, stop wasting the courts’ time.
Show us on the basketball where the trans girl touched you.
Under what law could the Principals association forced to allow them back? If the Association believes rules were broken, what is a federal court going to be able to do?
But, but, but! Muh freedom! I have a God-given right to accuse children of being dangerous monsters!
