Dave Bloch founded the snowboarding team at Woodstock Union High School because he loves the sport and wanted to do something nice for the students.
“I allow kids [on the team] who have never been on a snowboard before,” Coach Bloch said with a smile. “If I can see that they can at least get up on their edge, I’ll let them on the team. It’s definitely the fuel that keeps me going.”
He coached at Woodstock for more than a decade—until one day, a three-minute conversation with two students cost him everything. “We were up north at Jay Peak ski resort,” he recalled in a Daily Signal video. “We had two of our team members discussing a transgender athlete, a biological boy competing against the girls.”
They were waiting for the competition to start and were scheduled to compete against a team with a male, transgender-identifying athlete. “This discussion has gone on for a few weeks now at this point. I’ve had coaches approach me out of concern,” he remembered.
Coach Bloch casually shared his view that men and women can express themselves in different ways, but they also have different DNA, and that causes them to develop differently, often with male athletes having physical competitive advantages.
The conversation lasted a few short minutes. Nobody yelled. One student who disagreed with his viewpoint actually thanked him for a good conversation. The transgender athlete who was on the other team was not in the room, nor were they mentioned by name.
The rest of the day went great, and the two competing teams even shared a bus ride home. But after they returned, Coach Bloch was summoned to the superintendent’s office.
“The superintendent is sitting in her office. She slides the termination letter across the table,” he said. And that was that. The letter claimed that Coach Bloch had violated school policy on hazing, harassment, and bullying. He was angrily reprimanded by the superintendent.
“I find that your use of disparaging names created an objectively offensive environment and constituted harassment based on gender identity, justifying terminating your contract as a snowboarding coach,” the letter said. “In addition, you will not be considered for any future coaching positions within the Windsor Central Unified Union School District.”
Coach Bloch filed a lawsuit in July. He misses his team, but he has no regrets. “Would I do it again? Yes,” he said. “I was literally fired for stating biological facts.”
Reciting biological facts is not bullying—it’s science. And firing someone for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech is unconstitutional. Sadly, students used to learn these things in public schools like Woodstock Union.
