By Michael Bielawski
A lawsuit by a Christian High School against state officials regarding them being banned from athletic and academic events over a transgender player controversy is getting national headlines.
“The biological male is over 6 feet tall and is seen here knocking rivals out of the way during this game, this is crazy,” said Fox News reporter Lawrence Jones on Monday. He spoke while game footage played in the background showing a female basketball player getting knocked to the floor by a biological male on the court.
In February of last year, the school was banned by the state’s Vermont’s Principal Association from participating in any of their sports or academic competitions. A lawsuit was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom the following November for the school.
Language from the lawsuit states, “The State is entitled to its own views, but it is not entitled, nor is it constitutional, to force private, religious schools across the state to follow that orthodoxy as a condition to participating in Vermont’s tuitioning program and the State’s athletic association.”
Christian High School’s Coach Chris Goodwin and attorney Ryan Tucker were interviewed on Fox. Jones first turned his attention to a statement put out by the state on the matter.
It reads, “Mid-Vermont Christian School has every right to teach its beliefs to its own students. It cannot however impose those beliefs on students from other public and private schools; deny students from other schools the opportunity to play; or hurt students from other schools because of who those students are.”
Jones then responded, “They may be talking about her feelings but you had students that got hurt because of the actions of that transgender player.”
Goodwin noted that their team did advance to the playoffs and a matchup with the team with the male player.
“So after discussion with the administration and our players and parents, we decided that instead of going against our religious beliefs that there are differences between male and female and we are created differently. We decided to forfeit that game and withdraw from the tournament,” he said.
Then the state issued its banning of the school from all athletic and academic events.
Jones continued to show more game footage of the male player playing aggressively and females getting hurt and/or knocked down.
“Is there any legal ramifications because we have a biological male that is hurting other female athletes?” he said.
Tucker responded, “There are legal ramifications… We filed a lawsuit four months ago. We’re currently waiting for the court to issue an order telling us when we’re going to have our hearing date.”
He continued, “The state is basically attempting to purge individuals like Chris and other family members in the state from public discourse, from the ability to speak out on issues of significant public concern. And the state is completely failing to consider the biological reality here that the health and safety consequences and we filed a lawsuit on it and we’re very confident that we’re going to prevail.”
Jones asked where the rest of Vermont coaches stand on the issue. Goodwin said they are concerned as well.
“I’ve got four daughters, I’ve coached them all at one point in their careers playing high school basketball. I’ve also filled in for the boys’ coach when he can’t make those practices and I’ve run those practices and boys just play at a different speed, a different force than the girls play at.
“It’s a different game so I would never bring my girls to a boy’s practice or have the boys come into our practice and say to them ‘Hey we’re gonna scrimmage today. … It is just asking for an injury.”
The whole interview can be seen here.
Last week Breitbart News also did a story. In their comments section, the readers sound off.
Whazoo2 wrote, “The school needs to go out and find a couple of very fit 20-something men who are willing to “identify” as 15-year-old girls and then mop the floor with the other teams. See how long it takes for the principal’ association to pull their heads out of their posteriors. Thanks, China Joe. One more thing you have ruined for America. FJB”
Don Kedik wrote, “All kidding aside, though: this is what it’s going to take to stop this nonsense — the girls who are being harmed putting up a united front against it, and taking legal action. Big ups to those girls in VT.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle