Biological male player leads Vermont girls' high school basketball team to championships

A Vermont girls’ basketball team is heading to the state’s finals, coming into their final game of the season with an overall win streak of 21-1—but those victories were made with the help of a biological male athlete. They go into the final game with a 10-win streak.

Long Trail’s varsity girls’ team won in Monday evening’s division four game against Williamstown with a score of 43-40. The team will now head to their first state championship game in the school’s history, according to the Bennington Banner.

The local outlet noted that the team had to play much of the second half of the game "without starting center Rose Johnson," a transgender athlete "who battled foul trouble all game long."

"Johnson was an intimidating presence on defense when she was on the floor, swatting away shots almost every time a Blue Devil made it into the paint. The senior also provided an offensive boost, scoring the game’s first four points on a pair of putbacks," the outlet noted.

Johnson has been at the center of controversy over the season, with one coach of an opposing team being banned from state athletics after forfeiting a game against Long Trail, citing the dangers for his young players.

Mid-Vermont Christian School declined to play Long Trail on February 21 in a division four playoff game because it believed competing against the team with the biological male player "jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players."

The school has since filed a lawsuit against state officials after the Vermont Principals’ Association banned Mid-Vermont from all athletic events.

"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," Coach Chris Goodwin said, defending the decision.

"I’ve also filled in for the boys’ 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. It’s a different game," Goodwin said, adding that it would be "irresponsible" and "asking for an injury" to a female athlete.

"How many more girls have to be injured before they stop participating in this madness?!" Libs of TikTok wrote ahead of the semifinal game that took place on Monday.

"This 6’2’’ dude pretending to be a girl is just out here wrecking girls in high school basketball. Girls have worked all their life to compete in basketball and now this dude is dominating them in their sport," wrote Outkick’s Clay Travis.