Vermont Christian school wins appeal to rejoin state athletics after forfeiting game over transgender player

Mid Vermont Christian School, a pre-K-12 private Christian school in Quechee, Vermont, has won an appeal to rejoin state athletics. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the school must be allowed to participate, two years after being banned for forfeiting a game against a team with a transgender player. The case was sent back to the district court for further proceedings.

The school was barred by the Vermont Principals’ Association after forfeiting a girls’ playoff basketball game in February 2023 to avoid playing Long Trail School, which had a transgender player on its team. School officials expressed concerns that competing against a “biological male” would jeopardize the fairness of the game and the safety of players. Head of school Vicky Fogg stated that allowing “biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”

The Vermont Principals’ Association argued that the school violated its anti-discrimination and gender identity policies. The school, along with several parents and students, sued in federal court in 2023, seeking reinstatement to the association. The school claimed that forcing girls to compete against “biological males” would affirm that those males are females, violating their religious beliefs.

In June 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford denied the school’s request to be readmitted. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed that decision, agreeing with the school’s claims. The court found that the association’s exclusion of the school was not neutral and displayed hostility toward the school’s religious beliefs.

Judge Michael H. Park, writing for the court, noted that the association “publicly castigated Mid Vermont — and religious schools generally — while the VPA rushed to judgment on whether and how to discipline the school.” The court stated that the punishment imposed on the school was “unprecedented, overbroad, and procedurally irregular.”

Jay Nichols, representing the Vermont Principals’ Association, said the organization “does not harbor any hostility towards religious viewpoints,” but declined to comment further. The case will now proceed to the federal district court for further review.

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