A Vermont middle school soccer coach and his teenage daughter are fighting back after purportedly being suspended and punished for “misgendering” a student who identifies as transgender.
Listen to the latest episode of CBN’s Quick Start podcast 👇
Travis Allen and his 14-year-old daughter Blake are suing after both reportedly received penalties for comments made after a biological male used the girls’ locker room at Blake’s school.
Their complaint alleges the Orange Southwest School District and Randolph Union High School violated their First Amendment rights.
What Happened?
Blake told CBN’s Faithwire the firestorm ignited Sept. 21, when the transgender student, who identifies as female and plays on Blake’s volleyball team, reportedly walked into the girls’ locker room.
“I was in the locker room with a bunch of other teammates getting ready for our game, and the trans student walked in,” she said, noting students asked the individual to leave. “When we went to talk to the principals, they said there’s nothing they can do and that the trans student is allowed to be in there no matter if it was a biological male.”
Blake said she was told to change in a single stall if uncomfortable. When other parents also reached out to the school to complain, they, too, were reportedly told there was nothing that could be done.
Listen to the Allens share their story:
After the initial incident, Blake said she spoke with a friend in class about “how it was crazy that they would just let the trans student come in.”
She told the other student the male had no business in the girls’ locker room. Blake purportedly referred to the student as “literally a dude,” and said, “He doesn’t belong in the girls’ locker room.”
That conversation was reported to the co-principals’ office, and Blake was told after an investigation she bullied the student based on gender identity and was implored to write an apology letter and participate in a “restorative justice circle.” She was also initially given a suspension.
“I thought that was crazy for using freedom of speech, that I could be suspended because I didn’t want a male watching me change,” Blake said.
Phil Sechler, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, the firm representing the Allens, said Blake never ended up serving her suspension, as the school dropped the penalty the day after ADF filed a lawsuit on the family’s behalf.
Travis Allen’s Ordeal
But Blake’s father, Travis Allen, did still find himself in the crosshairs of chaos. Once word spread of the locker room situation, the story made its way to the local news and Facebook, with people sharing perspectives on both sides of the divide.
Allen said he noticed a comment from the mother of the transgender student purportedly making it seem his daughter had “made up the story, and it was all blown out of proportion.”
“And that really struck a nerve with me that my daughter’s not looking for attention. This is a serious issue,” Allen said. “So, I replied to her that, ‘While my daughter got violated, your son got a free show.'”
It was that comment — calling the biological male a “son” — that allegedly led to an investigation into Allen, and he, too, was suspended from his coaching position without pay.
“They asked me to do a public apology for misgendering the child, which I refused to do because I didn’t misgender,” he said. “So, they suspended me effective immediately when I would not issue the apology.”
Allen said he was disappointed but not shocked by the entire ordeal. As for Sechler, he believes this is a case of “compelled speech” and “suppression of speech.”
“Students don’t check their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse door. And Blake had every right to express her opinion about whether a male should be in the girl’s locker room and to call a male a male,” Sechler said. “So, that conversation she had was protected, and the fact that she was punished for expressing her view was a violation of the First Amendment.”
The attorney said Allen’s suspension from coaching is legally problematic, noting he was a private citizen expressing his opinion about a “matter of public concern.”
“There would be a balancing that would be required as to whether the school’s interest in suppressing his speech outweighed his interest in expressing his opinion,” Sechler said. “In this context, there’d be no reason for the school to have a greater interest, and therefore they had no justification for punishing Travis simply because they didn’t like what he had to say.”
Blake Feels Community Support
With so much attention on the case, Blake said she feels support from many on her team and at school.
“A lot of the teammates tell me that they’re happy I’m doing interviews and stuff because they don’t want to speak out, because they don’t want to get hate or backlash,” she said. “Or some of their friends believe differently, so they don’t want to lose friendships.”
As for Allen, he said it’s far past time for people to stand up and defend the truth, expressing his belief too many have previously ceded ground on essential issues.
“We’ve chosen to ride off into the sunset on too many issues with the school before,” he said. “So, we are tired of it, and we’re finally taking a stand.”
He said he’s hoping to get his coaching position back and see private stalls placed in locker rooms to avoid such issues. Allen said he’s lost some things, though, that he knows he’ll never get back.
“I’m not going to get back the friendships that we’ve lost through this,” he said. “I’m not going to make family members happy that have been upset with us over this. That’s stuff I can’t get back.”
Speaking Out, Regardless of the Costs
But Sechler underscored the importance of standing up and speaking out, regardless of the cost.
“If Travis and Blake hadn’t decided to stand [and] we hadn’t gotten involved, I think it’s pretty clear Blake would be serving the suspension and participating in the restorative circle,” he said. “So, that just goes to show you it’s important to stand up for your rights, especially the right of free speech, the right to express your views, and schools shouldn’t be able to bully you, to shut down.”
It should be noted the mother of the trans-identified student has said her child was bullied and has reportedly denied the volleyball team is uncomfortable with the teen’s use of the locker room.
“It’s been an absolute nightmare. Horrifying,” the mother told VTDigger. “My family is in constant pain from the lies and harassment.”
The mother alleges her child was bullied in the locker room and that an investigation was launched as a result.
School officials have not been able to divulge many details due to privacy laws, so the case will certainly need to play out in the courts for the truth of the matter to be unveiled.
***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***