The fallout continues after Mid Vermont Christian School’s decision to withdraw their girls basketball team from the Division IV state tournament over refusal to play a transgender opponent.
The Vermont Principals Association issued a letter to MVCS on Monday afternoon stating that the private school in Hartford is now ineligible to participate in VPA-sanctioned activities, effective immediately, owing to the forfeit of its first-round matchup against Long Trail School, who has a transgender player on its roster.
MVCS did not give the VPA a reason for its withdrawal prior to the Feb. 21 game, but the rationale behind the decision was revealed in a statement first published by Benjamin Rosenberg of Lebanon, N.H.’s Valley News on Feb. 24.
“We believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players,” MVCS head of school Vicky Fogg wrote in an email to the Valley News. “Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”
The VPA’s letter cites that published statement from Fogg in the justification of their decision to remove MVCS, saying that their position violates VPA policies and Vermont state law.
“Specifically, the school’s actions do not meet the expectations of the VPA’s 1st and 2nd policy, Commitment to Racial, Gender-Fair, and Disability Awareness and Policy of Gender Identity, respectively,” the letter states.
The VPA is offering no further comment as of now. Fogg was also not immediately available for comment, and the school is not permitting anyone else to interact with the media at this time.