Mid Vermont Christian School’s girls basketball team was excited to make the Vermont Division IV state tournament in February. The Eagles were seeded 12th in the playoffs and were slated to play the Long Trail Mountain Lions in the first-round.
However, citing concerns with fairness, the Eagles chose to forfeit that important game and their opportunity to advance in the playoffs because the Mountain Lions had a biological male athlete who identifies as female on their roster.
Vicky Fogg, the Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) Head of School, told Fox News Digital that:
“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 [female] players. Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”
These views are consistent with the concerns that so many schools, parents, and athletes have around the country—when a biological male competes in women’s sports, the playing field is no longer level and safety, privacy, and opportunities of female players are jeopardized.
Following the forfeiture, the Vermont Principals Association (VPA), the ruling organization over the tournament and state athletics, investigated the incident and chose to ban MCVS permanently from all future tournaments in all sports, claiming that MCVS “failed to meet the association’s policies on race, gender, and disability awareness” and that they violated the Vermont Agency of Education’s best practices that “prohibit discrimination and/or harassment of students on school property or at school functions by students or employees.”
MVCS did not ask that the other team be removed from the tournament or that any negative actions be taken against their opponent or the biological male athlete competing on the women’s team; they simply chose to forfeit their game in the best interest and safety of their female players.
By banning MCVS, the VPA has discriminated against female athletes and placed the importance of permitting male athletes to compete in women’s events above women’s participation.
MCVS plans to appeal the decision and is asking the VPA to reconsider its ban.
