| Father, daughter silenced and punished for pointing out truth… Dear Friend, Using biologically correct pronouns and “misgendering” a student recently got this 14-year-old Vermont girl and her father suspended. What did they object to? A male student being in the girls’ locker room while the volleyball team undressed. Blake Allen, a female high school volleyball player, and her father Travis, a middle school coach, found out that radical school officials are willing to violate the free speech rights of students and parents and punish them for voicing legitimate, commonsense concerns about privacy and safety. In September, Blake expressed concern that a male student had entered the girls’ locker room while her team was undressing. Shockingly, the school responded by saying that if any of the girls felt uncomfortable, they could use a single-stall restroom outside the locker room. Later, when talking with classmates, Blake noted the male student is “literally a dude” and said “he” doesn’t belong in the girls’ locker room.” On October 21, school officials at Randolph High School suspended Blake, charging her with harassing and bullying the male student. As part of her punishment, they told her she would have to write a “reflective essay” and “take part in a restorative circle” or face further suspension. Alliance Defending Freedom is defending the Allen family, and we need your help. Will you give today? For her father’s part, Travis had genuine concerns for his daughter’s safety and privacy. In a community Facebook post, he expressed his concern about the male student being in the girls’ locker room, stating “he got a free show” while his daughter and her teammates had been “violated.” School district officials responded by claiming Travis had “misgendered” the male student and suspended him from his job as the middle school’s girls’ soccer coach for the rest of the season—without pay. Travis and Blake reached out to Alliance Defending Freedom for help, and we filed a federal lawsuit against Orange Southwest School District and Randolph High School on their behalf. In response to ADF’s actions, Blake’s school has thankfully lifted her suspension and any further punishment. But Travis was suspended for the remainder of the soccer season, and he’s waiting for the school to do the right thing—starting with honoring his right to free speech. To this day, the school has refused to change the policy allowing males into girls’ locker rooms. Girls should not be forced to share private spaces with males—and every parent has a right to expect and demand their child’s school respect that. And no student or parent should face punishment for exercising their constitutional right to freely speak. Travis and his daughter Blake understand that males are males, and females are females. But the school is denying biological reality and trying to force its false ideology on everyone else. More and more, government officials and activists are trying to silence the speech of those who stand by biological reality. What’s happened to Blake and Travis is just one recent example. Will you make a gift right now to help fuel their lawsuit and defend free speech for all Americans? ADF doesn’t charge our clients a dime to defend them in court. Alliance Defending Freedom P.S. 14-year-old Blake Allen was uncomfortable with a male in her team’s locker room and was suspended after noting that a male, who came into the girls’ locker room while her teammates undressed, was “literally a dude.” The school responded by suspending her. Travis, her father, defended Blake and expressed his legitimate concerns. For that, he was suspended from his job as middle school coach. This is wrong. Help defend the Allens and protect free speech!  |
