LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — A track coach in Lake Oswego who said he wants transgender athletes to compete in a separate division is suing the school district after he says they fired him for bringing his concerns to the district.
John Parks has been coaching for about 40 years, the past two years at Lake Oswego High School. In May, Parks said he sent a letter to the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) after seeing a transgender athlete from another school win several girls track events.
"The transgender athletes that were competing and running fast, I could see, just knowing how a sophomore boy is going to develop," he told KGW. "I wrote the state a letter and said, 'This kid is going to keep getting better and better.' I mean ... this is just naturally going to happen, and it's going to take away from the efforts of the girls.
"And this kid doesn't deserve the scorn ... that they're gonna face. And so, I was concerned about it from my kids and my parents who are voicing their concerns."
OSAA's policy is to allow transgender athletes to compete with their gender identity.
Parks was investigated and accused of encouraging spectators to boo the aforementioned transgender athlete, as well as encouraging coaches to boycott medal events. He denies those accusations, but the Lake Oswego School District told him that the evidence showed he had engaged in discrimination and harassment and that his contract would not be renewed.
The district didn't comment on the lawsuit and told KGW back in June that his contract had expired.
Parks' attorney claimed that this is a First Amendment violation, which is the basis of his lawsuit against the district.
"Public employees and certainly school teachers, public school teachers, get caught up in this, like Coach Parks has been caught up in it," said Buck Dougherty, an attorney with the Liberty Justice Center. "They do not forfeit their First Amendment free speech rights just because they're public employees. So, as long as they're speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern, then they're allowed to do that, and their public school employer in this situation cannot retaliate against them."
Across the country, there's been an ongoing debate over how transgender athletes should participate in sports that are separated by gender.
The Human Rights Campaign calls the battle over trans girls in sports an attack on transgender rights, saying, "While it may be true that a particular transgender youth has physical abilities that help them in the sport of their choice, natural variations in physical characteristics are part of sports. Like all other youth, trans youth are short and tall, strong and not, fast and slow."