Members of the St. George Select Board voted in favor of allowing a transgender child to play on a girls third-fourth grade basketball team.
The 3-2 decision came after a group of parents flocked to a select board meeting last Tuesday to speak out against the child place on the team, which led to town officials calling this meeting.
Nearly 200 parents, residents, and activists gathered in St. George on Monday, with some handing out pins, stickers, and flags for transgender pride.
Emily Chadwick, a member of the school board who led the effort to separate the child from the team, stated that permitting the child to join the team is similar to discrimination against girls.
“As a mother of six, my first responsibility is to protect my children, not out of division or anger, but out of love”, said Chadwick.
In support of pride, Rockland Pastor Marty Pelham, who identifies as non-binary, says they know the family of the child.
“We are all created in love; we are all created different,” Pelham said. “I do not personally believe that anyone is being harmed by this child playing sports with the gender that they identify with.”
The stance from Title IX, the Trump Administration’s Position that requires trans athletes to play with those that share their biological gender rather than identity, created policy changes in eight different school districts in Maine this year. As the team in St. George is run by the town instead of the school, there were questions on whether or not the law would hold up.
