A Vermont high school girls basketball coach on Monday slammed a decision to ban his team from competition after he forfeited a game last year over another team’s transgender player.
Mid-Vermont Christian School coach Chris Goodwin defended his decision to forfeit a playoff game in February 2023 against Long Trail School. Goodwin said the participation of a biological male on the other team was too dangerous to his own girls to allow the game to go forward.
“I’ve got four daughters. I’ve coached them all at one point in their careers playing high school basketball. I’ve also filled in for the boy’s coach when he can’t make a practice, and I run those practices, and boys just play at a different speed, a different force … than the girls play,” Goodwin told Fox News.
“After discussions with the administration and our players and parents, we decided that instead of going against our religious beliefs that … there are differences between male and female, we are created differently, we decided to forfeit that game and withdraw from the tournament,” he continued. “And at that point, the state of Vermont governing body kicked us out of all athletic competitions in the state.”
Goodwin sat alongside Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Ryan Tucker, who is representing Mid-Vermont Christian School in a lawsuit against the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA)
“The state is basically attempting to purge individuals like Chris and other family members in the state, from public discourse, from the ability … to speak out … on issues of significant, public concern,” Tucker said, according to Fox News.
The VPA sent a letter to the school in March that said Goodwin’s decision to forfeit the game did “not meet the expectations” of VPA policies on inclusivity and “gender identity.”
The head of school at Mid-Vermont Christian, Vicky Fogg, defended the school’s decision in a statement.
“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,” Fogg said. “Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”
Last week, the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell girls basketball team forfeited a game mid-way through after three of its players were reportedly injured by a transgender player on the other team. Video of the game showed one injury that a girl sustained after she and the transgender player wrestled for the ball on the court.
“The bench was already depleted going into the game with the 12-player roster having four players unable to play,” a school representative said in a statement explaining the decision to forfeit the game. “When the coach saw three more go down in the first half leaving him with five players, he made the call to end the game early. The upcoming Charter School playoffs were looming, and he needed a healthy and robust bench in four days.”