CV NEWS FEED // A Catholic high school snowboarding coach who lost his job after stating that men and women are biologically different has favorably settled his lawsuit against the Vermont Agency of Education.
Coach David Bloch was fired from Woodstock Union High School in Vermont in early 2023 after a conversation with two students on his snowboarding team about biological males competing in women’s sports. He said at the time that biological differences typically give male athletes advantages over female athletes.
Bloch was fired the day after the competition, with the school district claiming that he violated the school district’s Prevention of Hazing, Harassment, and Bullying Policy and the Vermont Principals’ Association policy.
Bloch sued in July 2023 and was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a nonprofit Christian law firm. ADF reported that the case was settled in March 2024, as the school district agreed to pay Bloch $75,000—nearly 17 times his annual salary.
ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann said in a news release that Americans should not have to be afraid to express their beliefs.
“For more than a decade, Coach Bloch led the Woodstock Union snowboarding program to enormous success in terms of both athletic accomplishment and personal growth of the snowboarders,” he continued. “But the school district fired him because he simply expressed his views that males and females are biologically different and questioned the appropriateness of a teenage male competing against teenage females in an athletic competition.
“We’re pleased to favorably settle this case on behalf of Coach Bloch, and we’ll continue our work to ensure that the First Amendment protects all viewpoints, not just those favored by the government,” Hoffmann added.
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