Christian snowboarding coach fired by school district for calling out boys competing against girls wins $75,000 settlement

A high school snowboarding coach settled a case against Vermont educators and his school district after he was fired over comments he made about males identifying as female and competing in girls' sports.

David Bloch, the founding coach of Woodstock Union High School's snowboarding team, filed a lawsuit in July 2023 following his termination for discussing the nature of transgender student athletes with two high school snowboarders.

The lawsuit was reportedly settled against the Vermont Agency of Education, the Vermont Principals’ Association, and the school district that agreed to pay him $75,000, which was 17 times more than his annual coaching salary.

A United States District Court judge denied Bloch's reinstatement as a coach in December 2023, but Bloch filed a notice of appeal. He then agreed to drop the appeal request once he accepted the settlement.

Bloch in February 2023 overheard a discussion between two of his team members, a male and a female. The pair were discussing a male competitor on the opposing team identifying as a female and competing in the girls' division. The female student in the conversation allegedly suggested the male was being "transphobic."

Bloch reportedly joined their discussion and explained biological differences between men and women regarding DNA, physical development, and bone structure. He also stated that the male physique provided boys an advantage over girls in athletic competition. The coach also is a practicing Catholic, which reinforces his belief that "God immutably creates each person as male or female."

Despite claiming that the discussion lasted "no more than three minutes" and was in no way "disruptive," Superintendent Sherry Sousa fired Bloch the following day.

She claimed he violated the board's policy regarding "harassment, hazing, and bullying" by questioning "the legitimacy and appropriateness of the student competing on the girls' team to members of the WUHS snowboard team."

The administrator even sent Bloch a letter that declared he "created an objectively offensive environment and constituted harassment based on gender identity," and as such his termination was justified.

What's more, Sousa reportedly put a red flag on Bloch's record in an effort to prevent him from being rehired.

The judge revealed in the December 2023 decision that Sousa "has a transgender child, who was previously on the snowboarding team, and felt the issue was an important one." The judge also noted that the school official "could have issued a warning, a reprimand, mandated training, or issued a suspension or any combination of these measures but instead chose termination."

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