Officials of deep blue Washington State have launched a full-blown “investigation” alleging “harassment” against a teen high school girl who refused to take the court against a transgender player on an opposing girl’s basketball team.
The Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) filed a complaint against the school for teen Frances Staudt, a girl who plays for the Tumwater High School girl’s basketball team.
At issue is Staudt’s refusal to play in a game on February 6 after she noticed that one of the players on the opposing team, Andi Rooks, is a transgender athlete and her subsequent accusations that the school district moved to punish her for her position on transgender athletes.
Staudt says she asked Principal Zach Suderman and Athletic Director Jordan Magrath to remove the male player or stop the game. However, Suderman noted that the state’s governing body for sports, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, has rules allowing students to participate under their chosen gender. Staudt also says that Rooks “brutalized” her teammates on the court during the game, and she offered a video to prove her point.
After stating her position, Tumwater school officials launched an investigation into the girl, accusing her of “harassment,” “bullying,” and “misgendering” against the visiting transgender student.
The Staudt family has countered by accusing Suderman of ridiculing the girl over her ideals. The family also says that school officials threatened Staudt’s brother for taking video of the game.
The Staudts also allege that school officials harassed them after they posted about the issue on their personal social media accounts. At one point, Rook’s father allegedly sent threatening text messages to the Staudt family, demanding that they remove the posts.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from playing as females in school sports. Still, the state of Washington has not made any moves to obey the president’s new directives. The state has not yet said what it will do one way or the other, but in the meantime, officials are continuing to follow current WIAA rules allowing transgender athletes to play girl’s sports under their chosen gender.
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