The Washington State high school basketball player is fighting allegations of bullying and harassment after refusing to play trans athletes in the final game of the season.
Francis Stoast, 15, and his mother, Amy, are allegedly arguing that their refusal to compete against a biological man during “Fox & Friends” sparked a series of threats to their families, debating how the fire was lit with the Tanwater School District.
“They are [the school district] Amy told Steve Doucy on Thursday. “Indeed, they knew there was a situation, and they had a meeting, a principal, a principal, and an athletic director.
The Foundation for Intolerance and Racism (Fair) reportedly filed a civil rights complaint on Francis' behalf with the Department of Education. The investigation has begun Francis is to “misunderstand” his transgender opponent.
After warming up for the February 7 match, Francis informed the coach that he refused to play against the “very obvious” biological male found on the opposing team. Amy says she approached the school's athletic director. He is said to have responded that schools do not discriminate based on sexual identity in accordance with Washington state law.
“when [Frances] He had left, she was so mad, she felt exposed, and it was just a terrible situation,” Amy said. “She walked by and said, 'You're a man.' She was so annoyed in this situation that it's why she's been accused of bullying, harassment and threatening for misinterpreting this person. ”
Then, following the complaint, the school employee was allegedly confronting Stoast's younger brother about videoing the game and saying, “You better think twice about what you're doing now.”
Shortly after the incident, Francis spoke about the social media situation.
The trans athlete involved in the incident later said in an interview that if anyone expressed the issue, she would have played in the game.
“If the other people and players I'm playing against are saying, 'I'm not used to this,' I don't mind going outside,” she said on the YouTube series.[un]It is divided into Brandi Creuset. ”
Amy believes that if the family is informed of the situation in advance and gives players the option to sit out from the game, it could have different outcomes.
“But they didn't,” she said. “They put the kids there. My daughter was actually the one who stood up in this situation and… she was exposed… that was awful in the way they handled it.”
Tumwater School District has issued a statement on the controversy. “We recognize that students and families have a diverse perspective on a variety of topics, including participation in athletics, and we respect the right to make personal decisions regarding participation in athletic events.”
“As a district, we are still committed to promoting an inclusive environment where all students feel safe, supported and appreciated,” he read.
Despite President Donald Trump's recent executive order banning biological men from women's sports, Washington is one of many Democrat-run states, including California, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Maine, pushing back the order.
High school athletes in Washington are currently allowed to compete based on gender identity rather than biological sex.
The Inter-Washington Assault Activities Association (WIAA) policy states that each athlete will participate in a program that “matches gender identity or the most consistently expressed gender” with no medical or even legal requirements. A bill has been introduced that prohibits transgender girls from participating in women's sports and women's sports, but has not passed.
“We received a letter late Friday saying they found it… She's violating WIAA policies. She's not violating Tamwater School policies, so now she's putting her on what they're saying. If there's more incidents, she could be charged with further discipline,” Amy said.
“So basically they're like having this on her head.”
