Vermont Christian School Banned From Athletics Association Wins Appeal
Mid Vermont Christian School won a lawsuit against the Vermont Principals’ Association which punished the school for standing up for biological reality and the safety of its female athletes. The ruling is a great victory for religious freedom and common sense.
Two years ago, Vermont Christian, a faith-based pre-K–12 school, located in Quechee, Vermont, forfeited a girls basketball game to an opposing school with a biological male on its girls team.
The Christian school made the decision after considering fairness and safety implications, recognizing the physical harms that could result from forcing its female players to compete against a male.
“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,” Head of School Vicky Fogg told Fox News at the time. “Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general,” she added.
The Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) then expelled the school from all state-sponsored sports because of the VPA’s policy allowing males who identify as females to participate in girls sports.
The expulsion robbed the school’s athletes of the chance to compete in VPA competitions and pursue athletic scholarships. All because of the school’s courageous decision to stand for biological truth.
In response, the school and one of its families filed a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction against the VPA, requesting reinstatement into the association and the ability to participate in VPA sports and activities. But a federal district judge ruled against them.
The Christian school and one of its families were represented in court by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
On September 9, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s ruling against the school.
“[Mid Vermont Christian and the Goodwins] are likely to succeed in establishing that [state officials] acted with hostility toward Mid Vermont’s religious beliefs,” the court wrote.
“The VPA’s Executive Director publicly castigated Mid Vermont – and religious schools generally – while the VPA rushed to judgment on whether and how to discipline the school.”
The Second Circuit continued,
Those facts “strongly support the inference that Mid Vermont’s religious objection ‘was not considered with the neutrality that the Free Exercise Clause requires,’” the court decided.
Therefore, the three-judge panel granted Mid Vermont’s request for “reinstatement to full membership” in the VPA while the case proceeds, allowing the school’s athletic teams to participate in sporting competitions.
Judge Michael Park authored the court’s unanimous decision. He was joined by Judges Wesley and Sullivan.
“The government cannot punish religious schools – and the families they serve – by permanently kicking them out of state-sponsored sports simply because the state disagrees with their religious beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman in a statement, adding,
Chris Goodwin, coach of the girls basketball team, said in a statement, “I never thought I would be in court for simply adhering to my Christian and commonsense belief that boys and girls are different.”
He added,
We thank Mid Vermont Christian School for its courageous stand for its female athletes’ safety and for biological reality. No female athlete should be forced to compete against a biological male. And when a school stands up and says so, it should be rewarded. Not punished.
Thankfully, Mid Vermont Christian’s constitutional rights have now been vindicated in federal court. Let’s hope more schools will follow its lead and fight for the integrity of girls sports.
The case is Mid Vermont Christian School v. Saunders.
Related articles and resources:
Christian School Girls Basketball Team Forfeits Tournament Game Over ‘Transgender’ Opponent
Photo from Alliance Defending Freedom.
