A Vermont high school snowboarding coach is suing his former employers after they fired him for what he said was expressing his beliefs ‘as a Roman Catholic’ on transgender athletes.
David Bloch was the founder of the snowboarding team at Woodstock Union High School and had ran the program for over a decade, to great success.
The conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on his behalf in US District Court on Monday.
The suit claims Bloch joined a conversation between two of his snowboarders talking about a transgender female snowboarder competing against cisgender women.
It claims he said people ‘express themselves differently’ but ‘as a matter of biology, males and females have different DNA, which causes males to develop differently’.
David Bloch, a Vermont ex-high school snowboarding coach is suing his former employers after they fired him for what he said was expressing his beliefs ‘as a Roman Catholic’ on transgender athletes.
He then added that these biological difference generally give cisgender men competitive advantages at athletics.
The conversation lasted three minutes and Bloch assumed nothing was wrong, but the next day, Windsor Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Sherry Sousa fired him for violating the district’s harassment, hazing, and bullying (HHB) and the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) policies when a complaint was filed.
Sousa, the lawsuit states, said Bloch ‘created an objectively offensive environment and constituted harassment based on gender identity, justifying termination’ by using ‘disparaging names.’
Alliance Defending Freedom claims that Sousa fired Bloch before the completion of an investigation and claimed that Sousa has a transgender child.
Bloch was the founder of the snowboarding team at Woodstock Union High School
The suit claims that Bloch joined a conversation between two of his snowboarders talking about a transgender female snowboarder competing against cisgender women
They argue that Bloch ‘engaged in constitutionally protected activity’ and was merely expressing his views as Roman Catholic.
‘For more than a decade, Dave has led the Woodstock Union snowboarding program to enormous success in terms of both athletic accomplishment and personal growth of the snowboarders,’ they wrote.
‘But for merely expressing his views that males and females are biologically different and questioning the appropriateness of a teenage male competing against teenage females in an athletic competition, school district officials unconstitutionally fired him,’ ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann added.
Sousa and the Windsor Central Supervisory Union Board are among the defendants listed in the lawsuit, as well as local and state agency leaders.
Windsor Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Sherry Sousa (pictured) fired Bloch for violating the district’s harassment, hazing, and bullying (HHB) and the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) policies when a complaint was filed
‘The First Amendment ensures Dave, and every other American, can freely express his views on a matter of profound public concern without government punishment.’
Hoffman is demanding Bloch get his job back and the school district and Sousa be warned against ‘harassment’ policies against public employees.
Sousa and Windsor Central Supervisory Union Board have returned requests for comment.