Martina Navratilova fumes against high school coach ban following questions about trans participation in women’s sports

Navratilova expressed her anger after a high-school basketball coach was banned for refusing to play his team against a team including a trans-identified man.

Martina Navratilova fumes against high school coach ban following questions about trans participation in women’s sports

Martina Navratilova (Via Imago)

Former World No. 1 Martina Navratilova‘s anger and frustration had no bar recently. The American was fuming over the ban imposed on a high school coach in Vermont.

The girls’ basketball coach, Chris Goodwin, has been banned following his decision to forfeit a match. The basis of his decision was formed after he spotted a trans-identified male player in the opposite team.

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Due to his controversial decision, he was banned from state athletics. The Vermont Principals’ Association banned Mid-Vermont from all events for their behavior and refusal to turn up. In reply, the school has filed a lawsuit over their ban instead.

The incident has caught quite a lot of attention in the USA and reached Navratilova too. The 18-time singles Grand Slam champ has been quite a strong advocate for the non-inclusion of trans-identified male players in women’s sports.

She expressed her anger at the incident and frustration with the decision of the Vermont Prinicipals’ Association to ban the coach and school. She took to X (formerly Twitter) to vent her anger. 

This what happens to people who do the right thing… the rules must change! So stop blaming girls and women who don’t speak up or who don’t refuse to compete- these are the repercussions
Tweeted Navratilova.

The coach defends his decision despite the ban

Chris Goodwin did not back off from the decision he took. Despite receiving the ban along with his school, he believed he made the right decision.

Martina Navratilova and Chris Goodwin
Martina Navratilova and Chris Goodwin (Images via New York Post)

He talked of being a father to his four daughters and having coached them from a young age. At the same time, he compared it to the coaching he has given to boys and clearly saw the difference between them. As a result, he felt it was unjust for the girls’ team to go up against a trans-identified male player. 

I’ve got four daughters. I’ve coached them all at one point in their careers playing high school basketball. I’ve also filled in for the boys’ coach when he can’t make a practice, and I run those practices, and boys just play at a different speed, a different force … than the girls play. It’s a different game.
Said Goodwin as reported by New York Post.

Goodwin also added that pitting girls against boys would be inviting injury and irresponsible. No update has been received on the result of the lawsuit or the extent of the ban on the coach and school. As the incident happened in February 2023, the wait could be further longer for Mid-Vermont.

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