Vermont Principals' Association Pays $566,000 to Settle with Christian School Banned Over Trans Athlete Forfeit

Mid Vermont Christian School's girls basketball coach Chris Goodwin believes Vermont athletic officials punished the school to send a message after it forfeited a 2023 postseason game against a team with a trans-identifying male athlete.

The Vermont Principals' Association agreed to pay $566,000 in damages and legal fees as part of a partial settlement, according to Fox News Digital. Goodwin discussed the outcome on OutKick's "Don't @ Me" with host Dan Dakich and Alliance Defending Freedom attorney David Cortman.

Goodwin told Dakich he thinks officials both pandered on transgender issues and aimed to warn other schools. "I also think they were sending a message to all the other schools across this state," he said.

The school learned during the season it might face the opposing team if the bracket broke a certain way. After talks with administrators, parents and players, Mid Vermont withdrew to avoid violating its faith, creating an unfair matchup and risking player safety. "Instead of going against our faith and our religious beliefs and knowing also that it’s an unfair situation, also a potentially dangerous situation, we weren’t going to put our girls in that situation," Goodwin said.

About 48 hours after the announcement, the VPA removed Mid Vermont from all state athletic competitions, including volleyball, track and cross-country, plus academic events like spelling bees and math fairs. The ban lasted more than two years and forced teams to travel out of state for events.

Goodwin said VPA officials offered no compromise. "It was pretty much they’re just doing it," he told Dakich. "They sent us the letter. They communicated with us saying that we were out and unless we changed our minds, that we’re going to stay out."

Cortman agreed. "It was remarkable because there was no back and forth," he said. "This was an edict put out by the state, and they basically said, ‘Look, you can come back in whenever you decide to compromise on your religious beliefs and do something that goes against your faith.’"

ADF senior counsel Ryan Tucker noted in April 2025 that other schools had forfeited games for secular reasons like COVID or player shortages without punishment. "If a school can forfeit a game for secular reasons, why can’t they forfeit for a religious one?" he asked OutKick.

Goodwin explained the school's beliefs. "We believe that God created us distinctly male and female, and when those male and female people grow up, they become male and female high school athletes and the body doesn’t change," he said. "The male body has a lot of advantages over the female body when it comes to sports: strength, speed, agility, height, size, all of that."

He added that the athlete later concussed a girl on another team. Goodwin, father to one of his players, said he could not risk his daughter.

Goodwin heard private support from other coaches and athletic directors afraid to speak publicly. The settlement covers school damages like out-of-state travel costs and ADF's attorneys' fees. "It just goes back in the pot to help fund these type of lawsuits with schools all over the country," Cortman said.

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruling in September 2025 allowed Mid Vermont back into competitions, finding the VPA's expulsion showed hostility to the school's religion. The school missed three years of postseason play, including a senior captain who never reached the state tournament despite a strong team.

"There was sadness," Goodwin said. "That’s heartbreaking and just difficult as a coach."