Most members of a high school volleyball team in Vermont have been barred from their own locker room after a dust up with a transgender athlete, according to reports.
Blake Allen, who plays for the Randolph Union High School girls volleyball team, told WCAX how uncomfortable it makes her feel.
“It’s a huge thing … everyone’s asking, ‘Why aren’t you allowed in the locker room?’ ” she said.
The problem began after a dispute with a transgender athlete who hasn’t been publicly identified, WCAX reported.
The athlete allegedly made an “inappropriate remark” to other players, who then complained. WCAX reported.
Whatever was said has not come out, the outlet reported.
Some team members want the transgender player relocated, but Vermont’s state law means that students can play sports and use the locker which corresponds to the gender with which they identify.
“They want all the girls who feel uncomfortable to get changed in a single-stall bathroom, which would take over 30 minutes,” Allen said. “Where, if one person got changed separately, it would take a minute, like no extra time.”
The school sent out an email to families of the players after the incident, stating that the school has “plenty of space where students who feel uncomfortable with the laws may change in privacy.”
Allen said the problem isn’t the transgender athlete’s presence on the team, but in the locker room.
“There are biological boys that go into the girl’s bathroom, but never a locker room,” Allen said.
School officials sent out another email telling parents they are investigating allegations that the volleyball girls harassed the transgender student.
Lisa Randolph, Randolph High School co-president, said that when policies are violated, disciplinary action that aligns with the school’s rules will be applied, adding that students’ safety is the “district’s top priority.”
State policy holds that a transgender student should not be required to use a locker room or restroom that conflicts with the student’s gender identity.