Vermont transgender golfer finishes second at state, qualifies for all-New England championship match

A male athlete has been excelling in girls’ high school golf in Vermont this fall.

Burlington High student Klara Bronz-Russo finished second at the Vermont Principals Association state championship meet last week, shooting a 92 – though the second-place finish was the highest in Burlington High history at the state meet, according to the Independent Council on Women’s Sports. 

Bronz-Russo also qualified for the all-New England championship match in Connecticut later this month. The top 12 performers from each state can participate in the event. 

Bronz-Russo isn’t the only biological male to excel in Vermont sports in recent years. 

The Long Trail School girls’ basketball team had a 6-foot-1 male center, Rose Johnson, who helped the team reach the state championship game in the 2023-24 school year. 

Long Trail School head coach Courtney Stasny praised Johnson for his defensive prowess. 

“Rose brings such a great energy to the floor,” Stasny told the Manchester Journal in a January 2023 interview. “We nicknamed her Rose ‘not in my house’ Johnson because she just does not let anything come through the lane.” 

The phrase “Not in my house” gained popularity from a Geico commercial featuring former NBA center Dikembe Mutombo, who humorously blocked people’s shots into everyday items like a wastebasket, laundry bin, toll booth coin slot and shopping cart. 

Vermont also has had other issues regarding transgender athletes. 

In 2022, Randolph Union Middle School girls’ soccer coach Travis Allen and his daughter, Blake, were suspended after objecting to a male girls’ volleyball player using the girls’ locker room. They sued the Orange Southwest School District for violating their First Amendment rights and later reached a $125,000 settlement. The district also agreed to delete any record of bullying or harassment allegations against them. 

Woodstock Union High snowboarding coach Dave Bloch faced a similar situation. The district fired him in 2023 after he said males and females are biologically different. He sued the district for violating his free-speech rights and settled in March 2024 for $75,000. 

Over 30 states now prohibit males from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. 

President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year directing federal agencies to withhold funding from states allowing males to participate in women’s sports. 

Since then, several states – including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Nebraska – have banned the practice. The NCAA, the largest college sports governing body in the country, followed suit. 

Additionally, a January 2025 New York Times poll found 79% of Americans oppose male transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports; only 18% support it.

Photo by Benny Hassum on Unsplash