When it comes to sports, men and women are not to compete against each other in the same field. That is what Chris Goodwin, coach of the girls’ team at the Mid-Vermont Christian School, believes.
Goodwin’s team can no longer participate in state athletics after forfeiting a game against a squad. Their reason for the forfeit was that the other team had a trans player. Now Goodwin has come out to defend the decision — stressing the danger of a biological male playing against girls.
“I’ve got four daughters. I’ve coached them all at one point in their careers playing high school basketball,” Goodwin said Monday on “Fox & Friends.” He also mentioned how he fills in for the boys’ coach now and then.
“I run those practices, and boys just play at a different speed, a different force … than the girls play.” He called it “a different game,” adding that it was “irresponsible” and “asking for an injury” to a female athlete.
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The private school declined to play Long Trail in the February 21, 2023, Division IV playoff game. They believe that competing against a team with a biological male “jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players.”
The Vermont Principals’ Association banned Mid-Vermont from all athletic events in response to the team’s refusal. Now, the school has filed a lawsuit against state officials. The VPA told CNN that the school “has every right to teach its beliefs to its own students.
It cannot, however, impose those beliefs on students from other public and private schools; deny students from other schools the opportunity to play; or hurt students from other schools because of who those students are.” Goodwin barely agrees and has defended the decision to forfeit the game.
“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 said.
“And at that point, the state of Vermont governing body kicked us out of all athletic competitions in the state.”
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According to the lawsuit, the small school claims it was “irreparably harmed by being denied participation” and “losing out on playing competitive sports as well as academic competitions.” The Alliance Defending Freedom is handling their defense.
The Christian legal advocacy group works to defend and preserve freedom of speech. It hopes to expand Christian practices within public schools and in government, outlaw abortion, and curtail LGBTQ rights.
Mid-Vermont argued that VPA was “denying the Christian school and its students from participating in the state’s tuition program and sports league because of their religious beliefs.”
The lawsuit agrees that the state can have its own view. But it is unconstitutional to force private, religious schools to “follow that orthodoxy as a condition to participating in Vermont’s tuition program and the State’s athletic association.” The VPA has since removed the school from the association.
Eighteen state legislatures have banned trans students from competing in high school sports, according to the Movement Advancement Project. Vermont is one of the few states that allow it. Ryan Tucker, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, believes that the school will win the case.
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“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,” he said on “Fox & Friends.” He also accused the state of failing to consider “the biological reality” and the health and safety risks to female athletes.
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