Vermont school that boycotted game with trans player banned from tournaments

A Vermont school that refused to play against an opposing basketball team with a trans player won’t be able to participate in future tournaments, the Vermont Principals’ Association announced on Monday.

Mid Vermont Christian School forfeited a game on 21 February in an out-of-state tournament against Long Trail school.

“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,” MCVS head of school Vicky Fogg said in a statement obtained by the Guardian. “Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”

The Vermont Principals’ Association, an organization that sponsors various school sport activities, ruled that the MCVS had violated its policies and will be ineligible to participate in future tournaments that it sanctions. The move applies to all sports.

“The VPA again reiterates its ongoing support of transgender student-athletes as not only a part of building an inclusive community for each student to grow and thrive, but also as a clear expectation by Vermont state law(s) in the Agency of Education Best Practices, and in VPA Policy regarding transgender student athletes,” the association said in a statement.

It sent a letter to the school saying that Mid Vermont did not meet the association’s policies on race, gender and disability awareness. Mid Vermont has yet to respond to the sanctions.

The inclusion of transgender athletes, especially in girls’ and women’s sports, has been met with pushback from conservatives, with many arguing that transgender athletes have an advantage over cisgender women. Eighteen US states have passed laws