Last year, a Christian high school girls basketball team was banned from tournaments after it elected to forfeit instead of compete against a transgender opponent. And now the coach of the Christian school is speaking out.
In February of 2023, Mid-Vermont Christian School refused to compete against an opposing team that had a transgender girl on its roster. And now, Chris Goodwin – the head coach of the team – is explaining why the team chose not to compete.
“I’ve got four daughters. I’ve coached them all at one point in their careers playing high school basketball. 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… than the girls play,” Goodwin told Fox News.
Goodwin cited “religious beliefs” for the decision to withdraw from the tournament and forfeit the game against the transgender student.
“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,” Goodwin said.
As a result of the decision, the Vermont Principals’ Association banned the school from all future tournament’s in the state, but Goodwin said that the decision has been met with legal action.
