Vermont coach sues public school after being fired for expressing his views on fairness in girl’s sports

A lawsuit has been filed against a Vermont public school for firing a Catholic snowboarding coach who expressed his view that biological males have a physical advantage over female counterparts in athletics.

David Bloch founded the Woodstock Union High School snowboarding team in 2011 and was the head coach until he was fired in early February.

Block was terminated without warning after saying males had a biological advantage over female athletes, according to the 33-page complaint filed by Alliance Defending Freedom with the U.S. District Court of the District of Vermont on Monday. 

On Feb. 8, Bloch and his snowboarders competed against a team that had a biological male competing as a girl. Before the competition, Bloch overheard two of his athletes discussing the fairness of the situation. 

Bloch had a conversation with the athletes, which he described as “respectful among all parties and lasted no more than three minutes.” 

During the conversation he “affirmed that as a matter of biology, males and females have different physical characteristics” which often gave males an upper hand in athletic events.  

The two schools went on to compete without incident.  

The following day, Superintendent Sherry Sousa gave Bloch a notice of immediate termination and permanently banned him from any future coaching position within the school district before an investigation into the incident could be completed.  

Sousa claimed Bloch would get a copy of the written investigation and its finding upon its completion; he alleges he still hasn’t received it.  

The notice accused Bloch of violating the Harassment, Hazing and Bullying (HHB) policy for referencing a student in a “manner that questioned the legitimacy and appropriateness of the student competing on the girls’ team,” according to the official complaint.  

Bloch’s legal counsel Mathew Hoffman argued the coach made no reference to a specific student, and the school violated his First Amendment rights. 

“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,” Hoffmann said, according to the New York Post.  

“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,” he also said. 

The suit asks for the school to reinstate Bloch as the snowboarding coach, along with a permanent injunction preventing the school from enforcing the HHB laws on faculty expressing their views and differences. 

Bloch is also asking for reimbursement for attorney fees and unspecified damages.