According to reports, after a dust up with a transgender athlete, most members of a high school volleyball team in Vermont have been barred from their own locker room. One athlete who plays for the Randolph Union High School girls volleyball team, Blake Allen, told to reporters how uncomfortable it makes her feel. “It’s a huge thing … Everyone’s asking, ‘Why aren’t you allowed in the locker room?’ ” said Allen.
A dispute with a transgender athlete who hasn’t been publicly identified led to the beginning of the problem because young girls don’t feel comfortable in the locker room with a biological male. An “inappropriate remark” was allegedly made by the athlete to other players, who then complained. The outlet reported that whatever was said has not come out, said NY Post.
It is suggested by some of the team members that the transgender player should be relocated, but students can play sports and use the locker which corresponds to the gender with which they identify, as by Vermont’s state law.
“They want all the girls who feel uncomfortable to get changed in a single-stall bathroom, which would take over 30 minutes. Where, if one person got changed separately, it would take a minute, like no extra time,” Allen said.
After the incident, an email was sent out to the families of the players by the school, stating that the school has “plenty of space where students who feel uncomfortable with the laws may change in privacy.”
The problem is the transgender athlete’s presence in the locker room. “There are biological boys that go into the girl’s bathroom, but never a locker room,” said Allen.
Another email was sent out to the parents by the school officials, telling them that they are investigating allegations that the volleyball girls harassed the transgender student. When policies are violated, disciplinary action that aligns with the school’s rules will be applied, Lisa Randolph, Randolph High School co-president said, adding that students’ safety is the “district’s top priority.”
A transgender student should not be required to use a locker room or restroom that conflicts with the student’s gender identity, the state policy holds.
Read more sports news and commentary at Raw Dog Sports Blog
A dispute with a transgender athlete who hasn’t been publicly identified led to the beginning of the problem because young girls don’t feel comfortable in the locker room with a biological male. An “inappropriate remark” was allegedly made by the athlete to other players, who then complained. The outlet reported that whatever was said has not come out, said NY Post.
It is suggested by some of the team members that the transgender player should be relocated, but students can play sports and use the locker which corresponds to the gender with which they identify, as by Vermont’s state law.
“They want all the girls who feel uncomfortable to get changed in a single-stall bathroom, which would take over 30 minutes. Where, if one person got changed separately, it would take a minute, like no extra time,” Allen said.
After the incident, an email was sent out to the families of the players by the school, stating that the school has “plenty of space where students who feel uncomfortable with the laws may change in privacy.”
The problem is the transgender athlete’s presence in the locker room. “There are biological boys that go into the girl’s bathroom, but never a locker room,” said Allen.
Another email was sent out to the parents by the school officials, telling them that they are investigating allegations that the volleyball girls harassed the transgender student. When policies are violated, disciplinary action that aligns with the school’s rules will be applied, Lisa Randolph, Randolph High School co-president said, adding that students’ safety is the “district’s top priority.”
A transgender student should not be required to use a locker room or restroom that conflicts with the student’s gender identity, the state policy holds.
Read more sports news and commentary at Raw Dog Sports Blog
