A Christian high school forfeited its girls' team's spot in a basketball tournament last month because the opposing team suited up a male transgender to compete against them. Vicky Fogg, the head of Mid Vermont Christian School, said in a February 22 email to the Valley News that "playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players."
She added: "Allowing biological males to participate in women's sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women's sports in general." (See related story)
State law in Vermont prohibits discrimination against transgender and "gender nonconforming" students. "Generally, students should be permitted to participate in physical education and sports in accordance with the student's gender identity," reads the Vermont Agency of Education's best practices.
Steve McConkey of 4 WINDS Christian Athletics says conservatives and Christians pay a price when standing up against liberals.
"Then if they do, [liberals] ostracize them by calling them 'extremists' or 'unloving' or 'bigots,'" he offers. "But what's really important is that parents band together. They have got to go into these school board meetings and present the truth and do it in the right way."
In addition to exposing female players to physical danger, McConkey thinks youngsters are exposed to emotional and social dangers as well. "If you allow kids to compete against transgender athletes, you're sending them a message that transgender situations are good situations and [that they] have to honor that," he argues.
McConkey also points out that the school board members were elected by parents; and therefore, the board members should be standing up for parents – regardless if they agree with them.
MVCS is located in eastern Vermont, just across the border from Lebanon, New Hampshire.
