A high school snowboarding coach has settled a lawsuit against a Vermont educator and school district after he was fired for comments about men identifying as women and participating in girls’ sports.
David Block, the founding coach of the Woodstock Union High School snowboard team, was fired in July 2023 after he was fired for discussing the nature of transgender student-athletes with two high school snowboarders. filed a lawsuit.
The content of the lawsuit is reportedly The case was settled with the Vermont Department of Education, the Vermont Principals Association, and the school district for $75,000, 17 times the coach’s annual salary.
A federal district judge denied Bullock’s reinstatement as a coach in December 2023, but Bullock filed a notice of appeal. He subsequently agreed to withdraw his appeal if he accepted the settlement.
In February 2023, Bloch overheard a conversation between two team members, a man and a woman. The two were discussing how a male player on the opposing team identified himself as a woman and was competing in the women’s division. During the conversation, the female student allegedly implied that the man was “transphobic.”
Bullock reportedly joined them in their discussion and explained the biological differences between men and women regarding DNA, physical development, and bone structure. He also said that male size gives boys an advantage over girls in athletics. Coach is also a Catholic, which strengthens his belief that “God created each person unchangeably as male or female.”
Despite insisting that the discussion lasted “less than three minutes” and that there was no “disruption,” Superintendent Shelley Souza fired Mr. Bullock the next day.
She alleged that he questioned the “legitimacy and appropriateness of students competing on the women’s team for members of the WUHS snowboard team,” and violated the board’s policy on “harassment, harassment, and bullying.”
Administrators even sent a letter to Mr. Block declaring that he had “created an objectively unpleasant environment and constituted harassment based on gender identity,” thus justifying his termination.
In addition, Mr. Sousa reportedly placed red flags on Mr. Bullock’s record in an effort to prevent him from being rehired.
In a December 2023 ruling, the judge said Sousa “has a transgender child who was previously on a snowboarding team and felt this issue was important.” The judge also noted that school officials “could have issued a warning, reprimand, mandatory training, suspension, or a combination of these measures, but chose instead to dismiss him.”
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