RANDOLPH, VT – A girl attending a high school in Vermont who had been suspended for “misgendering” a transgender student in her locker room – and her father, a coach who had been fired for defending her – have successfully sued the school district in court.
Orange Southwest Unified School District high school student Blake Allen, 15, and her father, Travis Allen – who were represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom in their lawsuit, filed in October 2022 – claimed that the school retaliated against them for complaining about a transgender student being in the girls’ locker room.
Blake, then 14, was suspended from Randolph Union High School and her father Travis Allen – a Randolph Union Middle School soccer coach – was suspended without pay from his job and eventually fired as the girls’ soccer coach for calling the biologically male student, who identifies as a transgender girl, “a male.”
The father and daughter accused the school district of not only infringing on their First Amendment rights to free speech, but also of allowing the transgender student in question of getting away with issuing alleged death threats, reportedly saying that “I’m going to f**king kill Blake Allen” after the locker room incident.
As part of a settlement in the case, the school district has agreed to pay $125,000 to Blake and Travis Allen and the attorneys representing them; in addition, Travis’ Job as soccer coach will be immediately reinstated and any disciplinary records relating to the two must be permanently deleted.
Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, Phil Sechler, noted that the settlement represented a “victory for freedom of speech.”
“We are grateful that the school recognized it was wrong to suspend Blake from school and Travis from his coaching position simply for exercising their freedom of speech,” Sechler said. “No one should lose their job or get suspended from school for voicing their opinion or calling a male a male and we are glad to see this case resolved favorably, not only for Blake and Travis, but for all students and coaches to be able to speak freely and without fear of retaliation.”
The case attracted significant national attention; upon announcement of the settlement, Twitter CEO Elon Musk commented that the treatment of the Allens by the school district was “incredibly unjust.”
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