An Oregon high school track coach claims he was fired for witnessing a transgender athlete being “booed” during a state championship meet and for challenging state officials’ policies regarding transgender athletes.
Former Lake Oswego High School coach John Parks called for reform of current state law, which he believes makes girls’ sports less fair by allowing transgender students to compete in the gender they identify as. Kathu.
Parks wrote a letter to Oregon Student Activities Association (OSAA) Executive Director Peter Weber and state Sen. Rob Wagner asking the state to consider encouraging “open divisions” that don’t discriminate against transgender athletes and “provide an opportunity for participation.”
Parks said his concerns were born after his former coach saw a transgender athlete who won the girls’ event at the state championships in May being booed, leading him to feel the current policy may be doing more harm than good for students.
The former coach said there were two transgender athletes on the track team during the spring season, but he only raised concerns after witnessing the backlash firsthand. He told The Oregonian in an email..
“I support them, as do all other athletes, and I only want a solution where everyone wins because we don’t need any athletes to suffer from what happened last month,” he said.
In a letter to state officials, he noted that transgender student athletes are likely to win the 200- and 400-meter races and are on track to break state records in both events.
McDaniel High School’s Aiden Gallagher won the state title by 0.2 seconds but was booed as he crossed the finish line of the race.
“Allowing this travesty makes a complete mockery of this weekend’s event, and future events until the rules are changed to protect naturally female horses,” he wrote in a letter to the OSAA, according to the outlet.
Instead, he asked the OSAA to consider creating a separate section for events like state championships, which already has one for “wheelchair para-athletes and unified competition.”
“The solution for transgender athletes is to have open categories, like gender-neutral restrooms,” Parks wrote.
“We acknowledge the opportunity to compete, but we do not ridicule the reasons why women compete in their own categories.”
Even though he politely expressed his dissatisfaction in a letter, the Lake Oswego School District fired him.
Mary Kay Larson, communications director for the Lake Oswego School District, confirmed to KATU that Parks no longer works for the district, but did not provide details about what the basis for his firing was.
Parks, who begins working at the school in January 2023, argued that the district deprived her of her right to express her views to state officials.
But Parks wasn’t going to sit back and take it and decided to appeal his dismissal.
“I was treated unfairly and now I’m going to fight,” the former coach said.
“I’m … fighting for girls. I’m fighting for women’s sports. And I’m fighting for fairness for everyone.”
But dozens of parents and student-athletes were outraged by his firing and showed their support for the fired coach at a board meeting on Monday, according to Kathu.
“I think John wants what’s best for everybody,” Addie Rodriguez, a freshman at Lake Oswego High School, told the outlet.
“He wants the best for transgender female athletes and he wants the best for other female athletes. I don’t think this has anything to do with being against transgender people.”
“This is about giving all female athletes a fair and safe opportunity, and that’s all he’s asked for,” Lake Oswego parent Kristen Binkley said.
According to The Oregonian, Parks was a sprint coach at the professional and Olympic levels for 20 years before taking the job at Lake Oswego High School.
The Oregon Student Activities Association’s 2016 policy allows students to participate in categories that match their “consistently asserted gender identity,” a statement from the association said is intended to promote inclusivity. Handbook.
