Mid Vermont Christian High School Forfeits Girls' Basketball Game Due to Transgender Player

The girls' basketball team of Mid Vermont Christian High School does not feel like there is equality with a transgender on the opposing team.

The girls' basketball team from Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) withdrew from the state basketball championship playoffs upon learning that their next opponent, Long Trail Mountain Lions, had a transgender player on their team.

The MVCS team cited concerns regarding safety and fairness as the reason for forfeiting their place in the fourth game of the playoffs.

Mid Vermont Christian High School cancels girls' basketball game

Christian News stated that the school's head, Vicky Fogg, explained that the MVCS Eagles withdrew from the Vermont Division IV state tournament because they believed that playing against a team with a biological male on it would compromise the fairness of the game and the safety of their players.

Fogg continued by saying that allowing biological men to play women's sports sets a poor example for the future of women's sports.

As a Christian-based school, MVCS has the right to make decisions based on its students' religious beliefs, including those related to marriage and sexuality.

The school's statement clarified it does not waive any of these rights. They believe their institution has substantially complied with the requirements for approved independent schools.

Under Vermont state law, transgender students are not prohibited from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.

Discrimination against such athletes is prohibited, and disputes over the participation of students who do not identify with their biological gender in sports teams are taken on a case-by-case basis.

According to NBC, under the Vermont Agency of Education's best practices, transgender and gender nonconforming students should be given the same opportunities to participate in physical education as all other students.

However, it is important to note that the Vermont Principals' Association, the state's governing body for school sports, is not against transgender athletes.

Last year, the association even issued a letter supporting transgender athletes as a core part of building an inclusive community for each student to grow and thrive.

Debate on transgender athletes on sports teams

In recent years, the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports has become highly politicized, with conservatives speaking out against it.

The controversy centers around whether or not transgender women and girls should be allowed to compete in women's sports, with some arguing that their physical advantages give them an unfair advantage over cisgender female athletes.

According to CNN, earlier this year, a small group of demonstrators protested outside the NCAA Convention in San Antonio, calling for the exclusion of transgender athletes from women's college sports.

The protesters argued that allowing transgender women and girls to compete against cisgender female athletes undermines the integrity of women's sports.

Several Republican-led states, including West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Montana, Iowa, and Texas, had successfully passed laws banning transgender youth from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity.

These laws have sparked outrage among LGBTQ advocates, who argue that conservatives are manufacturing an issue where there isn't one and that these laws unfairly discriminate against transgender athletes.