Blake Allen refused to write a letter of apology to the student
A high school student and her dad are suing a Vermont school district, claiming they’ve been punished for complaining about a transgender student being in the girls’ locker room.
Blake Allen, 14, was suspended from Randolph Union High School and her father, Travis Allen was fired from his job as the girls’ football coach for calling the biologically male student, who identifies as a transgender girl, “a male”.
The lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges that Travis and Blake were punished for expressing their view on a matter of profound public concern: whether a teenage male who identifies as female should be permitted to change in a girls’ locker room regardless of the discomfort experienced by the girls in that room.’
The pair spoke about their case on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show on Fox on Thursday.
EXCLUSIVE: Represented by @ADFLegal, Blake Allen's family is accusing their Vermont school district of retaliating against both Blake and her father Travis for speaking out against a biological male in her locker room.
Details first in @DailySignal. https://t.co/2L1qZ9aC1x
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 27, 2022
Blake told the show she was suspended for voicing “my opinion that a man shouldn’t be in the women’s locker room”, an opinion she said a lot of her classmates were supportive of.
“I think most people and the school are, they are just too scared to speak up because they see all the backlash I’m getting for it,” she addded.
Blake’s dad, Travis posted on social media that “referred to the male student as a male and I was punished because of it. Because I misgendered him.”
Blake told the show the school lifted her suspension shortly after they filed their lawsuit. However, it is not clear if the school was aware of the case against it at that time.
The teenager told Carlson that she was in the locker room when the student walked in, which made her feel “uncomfortable”.
“I left and I told the school and they just shut me down and said there was nothing they could do.”
Some teammates had alleged that the transgender player made an “inappropriate remark” to some of them while they were changing in the locker room, MailOnline reported. No details of the remark have been publicised.
Vermont’s state law states that students can play sports and use the locker which correspond to the gender with which they identify.
Travis told the show his daughter was told to write a letter of apology to the trans student, but declined.
The Daily Signal obtained a copy of the lawsuit and reported that it claims that: “In objecting to a male being in the room while the girls are changing, Travis and Blake each made comments underscoring that the trans-identifying student is in fact a male, including by using male pronouns.
“Indeed, their view of the student’s maleness was foundational to their opinions on appropriate use of the locker room.
“‘Yet, their remarks were too much for Defendants’ transgender orthodoxy—Travis was deemed to have ‘misgendered’ the student, while Blake was found guilty of ‘harassment’ and ‘bullying’—so Defendants disciplined both of them.”
The school district reportedly told the Allen family on October 21 that Blake had violated its Harassment, Hazing, and Bullying policy and must serve a two-day out of school suspension, write an essay, and take part in a “restorative circle” with the school’s equity coordinator “and at least two students who can help her understand the rights of students to access public accommodations.”
If the essay was found to be lacking “good faith” the school could add an additional three days to her suspension, the lawsuit said.
Blake told Carlson: “I said I would rather have a five day suspension and have to apologise because I’m not sorry.”
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