Girls’ Team Banned From State Basketball After Forfeiting Game Against Trans Player

“The prohibition against discrimination includes discrimination based on a student’s actual or perceived sex and gender."

A girls’ basketball team that forfeited a game against a team that included a male student who identified as a girl has been banned from competition in state athletics.

The Mid Vermont Christian School told Valley News that for the girls to play against a team that included a male player “jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety” of its team members.

However, the Vermont Principals’ Association subsequently determined that the private religious school had violated the state athletic program’s “commitment to racial, gender-fair, and disability awareness,” and “gender identity” when it declined to play the Division IV playoff game against Long Trail on February 21.

In a Monday announcement, the governing body for state sports announced it had thus made an “immediate determination” that Mid Vermont Christian School and all of its K-12 students would not be ineligible for any state-sponsored athletic activities going forward, as the New York Post reported.

“VPA policies prohibit discrimination and/or harassment of students on school property or
at school functions by students or employees,” the statement from the principals’ association read.

“The prohibition against discrimination includes discrimination based on a student’s actual or perceived sex and gender,” it added.

The school, for its part, told the Post in a statement that its officials were “disappointed” with the decision and plan to appeal.

“Cancelling our membership is not a solution and does nothing to deal with the very real issue of safety and fairness facing women’s sports in our beloved state,” school head Vicky Fogg wrote.

“Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general,” she also said.