The Maine man was silent during a school board meeting this week after playing against a boy playing on a sports team aimed at girls.
On Wednesday evening, Nick Blanchard and others worried about young women's sports boys attended a school board meeting in Augusta's capital. Adorned with a “Make America Great Again” hat and a T-shirt warning Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, “You'll be fired,” Blanchard went to the podium during the public comment section, addressing several steps recently taken on district issues.
In March, six of the seven school board members voted to restore 2020 understanding of Title IX, which excludes men from the women's team. One board member voted against the move.
“Thank you to the good work and the six members who voted to go back to Title IX's 2020 interpretation. Blanchard said.
At that point, Chairman Martha Witham Blanchard interrupted, saying, “Sorry, but negative comments are not allowed.”
Blanchard then shifted gear and began discussing the change.org petition he launched to remove Kim Liscom as principal of Connie Middle and High School. Liscombe is also the current president of the Maine Principals Association. This is a group that supports male athletes who identify male athletes who participate in the women's team as part of Maine. Human Rights Law.
“Most of you have ever heard I have started petitioning that both Republican and Democrat parents have signed it.” Blanchard explained. “As a member of the school board, you are asking if you'd vote to hold Kim.”
Before Blanchard finished his sentence, Wism paused him again, claiming his comments were “honorable.” When Blanchard asks Wynnem to clarify how they are “defamatory,” Wynnem apparently dodged the question.
“I don't need to explain it to you,” she shot back, adding, “These comments will not be tolerated in meetings directed at us or others in this room.”
“Communist China is here!”
Blanchard then tried a different approach. Although he abstractly referred to Liscom as “the person who is the president of the Main Principals' Association,” the attempt did nothing to soothe witham.
“No, it's close enough. Sorry, you're done, Mr. Blanchard,” Willam said before ordering him to leave the podium.
Blanchard eventually complied, but submitted one last retort on his way out: “Communist China is here!” Some of his allies allies allege, all dressed in red, left the meeting, WMTW-TV However, it is unclear whether Blanchard left with them.
The outlet has also claimed that Blanchard's petition to expel Liscom recently “has gained traction,” and has collected nearly 1,000 signatures. However, as of Friday morning, Blanchard Change.orgPick up a Similar petition Another angry August parents have closed 1,000 signatures to remove Liscom, which started.
In his petition, Blanchard is in line with Augusta's “other parents and students,” which allows biological boys to participate in “female sports,” without taking into consideration the concerns raised by parents and students alike.
“This decision undermines the spirit of fair competition that our schools and our communities strive to support and strikes a blow to gender equality.”
School principal Michael Tracy Jr. appears to have been taken away from the incident at a board of education meeting as “national party politics manifested in local government/school issues.”
“We value the voices and concerns of the community, but there appears to be a fundamental misconception about the right channels for policy change,” Tracy wrote in an email, according to WMTW.
Official Augusta Board of Education Policy We ask that members “respect parents as partners in decisions that affect parents and families, and encourage “parent engagement through the PTO group and the board of directors and school advisory committees.”
In a statement, the Main Principals Association was standing by Liscomb, claiming she “faithfully performed her duties” and that she would be overlooked after a year's rotation when the president ends this summer.
“There was recently a local attention focused on her, which could be related to the Main Principals Association's policy on sports participation,” the MPA statement continued. “If legislatures or state legislatures change the law, we will adapt the policy accordingly.”
Until Friday, Maine must amend its policy to match the federal ban on men's participation in women's sports. President Donald Trump signed Presidential Order On February 5th, men will leave women's sports and “retract all funds from education programs that will deprive women and girls of fair movement opportunities.”
The state filed a lawsuit earlier this week, accusing the Trump administration of “illegally withholding grants related to raising children.”
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