Girls’ Basketball Team Chooses To Forfeit Playoff Match Over Facing Biological Male Opponent

A Vermont Christian high school forfeited a girl’s basketball game because the opposing team had a transgender player, the head of the school said. Mid Vermont Christian School in Junction had been scheduled to play Long Trail School in Dorset on Feb. 21, but the game never happened.

Vicky Fogg, the head of Mid Vermont Christian School, said the team decided not to participate “because we believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players.”  Fogg said in her statement that she believes “allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.” Contacted Wednesday, the school declined to discuss the matter further.

Amanda Rohdenburg, the associate director of Outright Vermont, which advocates for LGBTQ+ youth, said the school’s actions show that Vermont “is not immune to anti-trans hate.”

“What we’re seeing in Vermont and around the country is a heightened and coordinated effort to stop trans youth from existing and thriving as people,” Rohdenburg said in an emailed statement. “Our primary focus is to go where harm is done and to ensure that young people feel safe and seen. We want the trans youth who is directly harmed and her family to know we are here for them. We also want all queer and trans youth in Vermont to know that we are here.” (NBC)