Vermont Christian school sues after being barred from sports tournaments for forfeiting basketball game against team with biological male player

On Monday, the coach of the Mid-Vermont Christian School (MVCS) girl's basketball team spoke out for the first time after the team was banned from competing in more state tournaments after he decided to forfeit a playoff game because the opposing team had a trans-identified male athlete on it last year.

In an interview with Fox News, Chris Goodwin discussed the decision to forfeit the game, and why the school has since filed legal action against the state's ban.

"I've got four daughters. I've coached them all at one point in their careers playing high school basketball," Goodwin said. "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, you know, then the girls play, it's a different game."

"I would never bring my girls to a boy's practice, or have the boys come to our practice," he added. "It is asking for an injury. It would be irresponsible, on my part to put my girls, my daughter on a court to play against male athletes."

In November, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit against Vermont for banning the Christian School from future tournaments after it forfeited a game against Long Trail High School in February because it had a trans-identified male on their roster.

According to Fox News, the school and three sets of guardians are accusing the Vermont Principal's Association (VPA) of "denying the Christian school and its students from participating in the state’s tuition program and sports league because of their religious beliefs."

After the forfeit in February 2023, the head of MVCS Vicky Fogg said, "We believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players." She added, "Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general."

Sports are separated by gender identity rather than biological sex in Vermont. When asked by schools for best practices when they know they will play a team with a biological male athlete on it, assistant executive director for the VPA Lauren Thomas said, "We just supported our stance and our best practices through our inclusivity statement."