A Christian school has been excluded from competing in future tournaments sanctioned by the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) after its girls basketball team forfeited a match against an opposing team that includes a male player who identifies as a girl.
The VPA, the governing body overseeing high school sports in Vermont, ruled that the Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) can no longer participate in any VPA-sponsored competitions across all sports because the school violated two human-rights policies concerning “gender identity” and “commitment to racial, gender-fair, and disability awareness.”
“The result was a determination that policies have been violated at the school level, thus there is an immediate determination of ineligibility for Mid Vermont Christian in VPA sanctioned activities and tournaments going forward,” the VPA executive council announced in an official statement released Monday.
MVCS was scheduled to play the Long Tail Mountain Lions in the Vermont state championship tournament in February but refused to play the team due to concerns that playing against a biological male would endanger the team’s female players.
“We withdrew from the tournament because we believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes 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 senior administrator at MVCS told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Vermont law, however, permits transgender females to compete in the group corresponding to their gender identity and prohibits so-called discrimination based on sex.
“Transgender and gender nonconforming students are to be provided the same opportunities to participate in physical education as are all other students,” the Vermont Agency of Education’s best practices explains. “Participation in competitive athletic activities and sports will be resolved on a case-by-case basis.”
Stringent state laws protecting transgender athletes have made Vermont the source of numerous recent controversies pitting concerned girls and parents against such legislation.
In October 2022, a middle school girls soccer coach from Randolph Union High School was suspended after he reportedly “misgendered” a transgender student. The coach’s daughter had earlier expressed discomfort with having the individual share the girls’ locker room.
Administrators at Randolph also banned members of the girls volleyball team that same month over similar objections. “I feel like for stating my opinion — that I don’t want a biological man changing with — that I should not have harassment charges or bullying charges. They should all be dropped,” one concerned student told Fox News.