Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit this week heard arguments in a case involving the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) and a Christian high school penalized for refusing to put the girls’ basketball team in danger.
Chris Goodwin, basketball coach of the girls’ team at Mid Vermont Christian School, forfeited the first round of a state-sponsored tournament after he learned that his team would have to compete against a team with a boy on it.
Goodwin did not want to risk his players getting injured. He coached boys’ basketball practices, and he coached his four daughters. He said boys just play “at a different speed, a different force…it’s a different game.”
VPA in 2022 blocked the school from participating in VPA-sponsored competitions in retaliation. The school and one of the families filed a lawsuit against the secretary of the Vermont Agency of Education, the VPA, and others based on First Amendment grounds.
David Cortman, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Mid Vermont Christian School, said that the government can’t punish religious schools because the state opposes their religious beliefs.
“Now, for nearly two years, Mid Vermont Christian School has been denied a public benefit available to all other schools in Vermont just because it stood by the widely held, commonsense belief that boys and girls are different,” he said. “We are urging the court to uphold constitutional protections by guaranteeing the school can fully participate while still adhering to its religious beliefs.”
Courts have ruled that the government can’t force religious schools to abandon their beliefs just to participate in a public benefit program. The people who run Mid Vermont Christian School believe what the Bible teaches about sexuality. God created male and female, and homosexuality is a sin.
Aside from the religious aspect, safety, privacy, equal opportunity, and fair competition are at stake.
Myranda Goodwin, a player on the team, said she feels violated and nervous playing against a male. When she plays against her brother, she said on Fox News, it’s a disadvantage to her. Coach Goodwin said he’s proud of the girls for standing up for what’s right, regardless of the cost. Watch the full segment below.
.@FoxNews has the latest on the Mid Vermont Christian School girls’ basketball team, which was banned for forfeiting a game against a male athlete.
Vermont is trying to purge schools and people from the public square because they don’t agree with the government on a… pic.twitter.com/uJXey4S2fN
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) April 9, 2025
