HARTFORD, VT. —- Mid Vermont Christian School’s (MVCS) girls high school basketball team, located in Hartford, Vermont, forfeited their spot in a tournament, refusing to play against a team with a transgender player. The team is no longer able to participate in any future tournaments or events held by the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA).
Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) was scheduled to play Long Trail School on February 21, 2023. MVCS forfeited the game due to a transgender player on the opposing team’s roster according to MVCS head of school, Vicky Fogg.
Fogg said 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,”
She went on to say, “Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”
The VPA, the state of Vermont’s governing body for school sports, released not only a press release in response to the situation but also sent a letter to MVCS stating the immediate ineligibility of the school’s girls’ basketball program.
In a later statement, MVCS said that they plan to appeal the decision that the VPA gave the girls’ basketball program.
Vicky Fogg’s response to the letter stated, “Canceling our membership is not a solution and does nothing to deal with the very real issue of safety and fairness facing women’s sports in our beloved state. We urge VPA to reconsider its policies, and balance the rights of every athlete in the state.”
In an update to the February Press Release, the VPA met on March 13, 2023, to discuss the forfeiture. The result of the meeting determined that policies had been violated by MVCS’s girls’ basketball program, thus enacting “an immediate determination of ineligibility for Mid-Vermont Christian in VPA-sanctioned activities and tournaments going forward.”
The VPA reiterated in this press release the association’s support of transgender student-athletes per moral and state laws. Referencing the association’s own Policy on Gender Identity, a portion of the policy states: “The VPA is committed to providing all students with the opportunity to participate in VPA activities in a manner consistent with their gender identity as is outlined in the Vermont Agency of Education Best Practices For Schools For Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Students. Vermont’s Public Accommodations Act (9 V.S.A. 4502) and VPA policies prohibit discrimination and/or harassment of students on school property or at school functions by students or employees. The prohibition against discrimination includes discrimination based on a student’s actual or perceived sex and gender.”
