The state decided to make the decision it was, and it was hurtful
In the hills of Vermont, a small Christian school's decision to forfeit a single basketball game on grounds of religious conscience set in motion two years of institutional exile — a banishment from the full landscape of student life that courts would ultimately deem too far. The $566,000 settlement reached this week between Vermont's education agencies and Mid Vermont Christian School closes a legal chapter, but the questions it raised about the boundaries of state authority over religious institutions remain very much alive. It is a story about where civil rights law ends and religious liberty begins — and about the young people caught in the space between those competing convictions.
- A forfeited girls' basketball game in 2023 triggered not just a loss, but a two-year banishment from every athletic and academic competition in Vermont — a punishment that stunned the school's community with its breadth.
- Students who had trained through full seasons, prepared for spelling bees, and dreamed of state championships found those doors locked, forcing teams to travel out of state just to compete at all.
- The school's legal team argued the state had weaponized civil rights law against religious conscience, and after years of litigation, a federal appeals court ordered reinstatement in September 2025.
- This season, the girls' basketball team returned to the Barre Auditorium — but a senior who graduated during the ban called her younger sister in tears, mourning the years neither of them could get back.
- Vermont's education agencies have now agreed to pay $566,000 in damages and fees, a settlement that legal observers see as a warning signal about the vulnerability of state policies that restrict religious schools on gender-related issues.
In the fall of 2023, the girls' basketball team at Mid Vermont Christian School forfeited a postseason game rather than compete against a team with a transgender athlete — a decision rooted in religious conviction that came with tears in the locker room and a season's worth of hope quietly extinguished.
What followed was far larger than one forfeited game. The Vermont Principals' Association banned the school not only from athletic competition, but from academic competitions as well — spelling bees, science fairs, mathletes events. A school of roughly 111 students found itself locked out of the entire extracurricular fabric of secondary education. For two years, its teams became nomads, traveling hours across state lines to find opponents, while the school gymnasium sat dark on Friday nights.
Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, the school took the fight to federal court. The state held its position, arguing that accommodating the school's religious beliefs would itself violate nondiscrimination policy. The legal battle stretched through 2024 and into 2025, until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered reinstatement and allowed the school to compete while litigation continued.
This season, coach Chris Goodwin's team returned to the state tournament and advanced to the Barre Auditorium — the arena every Vermont player dreams of reaching. But the moment carried grief alongside the joy. A senior who had graduated during the ban called her younger sister, now on the team, and both were in tears: one celebrating, one mourning the chance she would never have.
On Tuesday, Vermont's education agencies finalized a $566,000 settlement covering damages and legal fees. For the school's advocates, the sum represents more than compensation — it signals that state policies restricting religious institutions on gender-related issues may face serious legal exposure, and that courts are increasingly willing to weigh religious liberty claims even when they conflict with nondiscrimination law.
In the fall of 2023, the girls' basketball team at Mid Vermont Christian School faced a choice that would reshape the next two years of their lives. A postseason game was scheduled against a team with a transgender athlete. The school's leadership, guided by religious conviction, decided to forfeit rather than compete. It was a decision made with prayer and difficult conversation—the coach remembers tears in the locker room, students who had trained through a full season suddenly watching their postseason hopes dissolve. But what happened next was far larger than one forfeited game.
Within days, the Vermont Principals' Association responded with a sweeping sanction: the school was banned from all athletic competition in the state. Then came another blow. Academic competitions—spelling bees, science fairs, mathletes competitions—were banned too. A school of roughly 111 students found itself locked out of the entire ecosystem of extracurricular life that defines American secondary education. The message was unambiguous. Comply with the state's nondiscrimination policies, or be exiled.
For two years, Mid Vermont Christian's teams became nomads. Instead of short bus rides to rival schools across Vermont, they traveled hours across state lines to find opponents willing to play them. Home games disappeared. The gymnasium, once filled with parents and community members on Friday nights, sat quiet. Coach Chris Goodwin, who led the girls' basketball program, watched teams he believed could compete for state championships never get the chance to try. The toll was not merely competitive—it was cultural. The rhythms of school life that bind a community together simply ceased.
The school, represented by the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, took the case to federal court. The state did not back down. Lawyers argued that allowing the school to follow its religious beliefs about biological sex would itself violate nondiscrimination policy—a position that struck the school's advocates as a kind of inversion, using civil rights law as a weapon against religious conscience. The legal fight stretched on through 2024 and into 2025.
The turning point came in September 2025, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered the school reinstated. The court ruled that Mid Vermont Christian must be allowed to participate in state athletics while the case continued through the lower courts. After two years of banishment, the doors opened again. This season, Goodwin's team returned to competition. They made it back to the state tournament, back to the Barre Auditorium—the old arena every Vermont player dreams of stepping onto.
When the team won their quarterfinal game to advance, Goodwin received a phone call that captured the bittersweet weight of the moment. A senior who had graduated a year earlier, during the ban, was calling her younger sister who now plays for the school. Both were crying—joy at the achievement, but also grief for the opportunity lost. The sister, now a freshman in college, would never have that chance.
On Tuesday, Vermont's education agencies finalized a settlement agreement awarding the school and its legal representatives $566,000 in damages and legal fees. The money acknowledges what two years of exile cost: not just games, but the texture of adolescence itself. For the school and its advocates, the settlement represents something larger—a signal that state policies restricting religious schools on gender-related issues may face serious legal vulnerability. The case has become a focal point in the national debate over girls' sports and religious liberty, and the outcome suggests that courts may be willing to side with schools that refuse to compromise their doctrinal beliefs, even when those beliefs conflict with state nondiscrimination law.
Citas Notables
We were all in agreement that the right decision was to not compromise our beliefs and to withdraw, but the conversation with the players was the hardest.— Coach Chris Goodwin
It's been surprising how much the state has dug in their heels. They were discriminating against religious schools.— Dave Cortman, Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did the school forfeit that single game in the first place? Was there a rule requiring them to play?
No rule forced them. They chose to forfeit based on their religious beliefs about biological sex. It was a voluntary decision—but it triggered consequences they didn't anticipate.
And the state's response was to ban them from everything, not just basketball?
Yes. Within days, the Vermont Principals' Association extended the ban to all sports and then to academic competitions like spelling bees and science fairs. It was a total institutional exile.
That seems extreme. What was the state's reasoning?
They argued that allowing the school to follow its religious beliefs would violate their nondiscrimination policies. The school's lawyers saw the irony—the state was using civil rights law to discriminate against a religious institution.
How long did this last?
Two full years. During that time, the school had to arrange all competitions out of state. Teams traveled hours across state lines instead of playing nearby rivals. Home games disappeared.
What was the human cost?
Students lost two years of normal school life. Teams that could have competed for state championships never got the chance. A senior who graduated during the ban watched her younger sister finally get to play in the state tournament—but she couldn't. Both were crying.
How did it end?
A federal appeals court ordered the school reinstated in 2025. Then the state settled, paying $566,000 in damages. The school is back, but the lost time can't be recovered.
What does this signal about religious schools and state policy?
It suggests courts may be willing to protect religious conscience even when it conflicts with state nondiscrimination law. The case has become a flashpoint in the national debate over girls' sports and religious liberty.