A Florida high-school principal and members of school staff allegedly disobeyed a state law forbidding males to compete with females. James Cecil, the principal of Monarch High School, was reassigned on Monday after an investigation showed that he allowed a male athlete to compete on the female volleyball team.
A male student, who apparently “identifies” as a female, was allowed to participate on Monarch High School’s volleyball team. The school officials allowed this despite a 2021 Florida law — the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act — that forbids biological males from competing against females in school-sanctioned competitions.
“The principal of Monarch High School and several staff members have been reassigned to non-school sites pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of improper student participation in sports,” read a statement from John J. Sullivan, an official for Broward County Public Schools. “Although we cannot comment further, we will continue to follow state law and will take appropriate action based on the outcome of the investigation. We are committed to providing all our students with a safe and inclusive learning environment.”
At least one school-board member has declared that the coming investigation regarding the school personnel’s actions will be done according to the law.
“The investigation will follow the facts and if it is revealed that state law is in question, I could tell you, we will follow state law,” said school board member Torey Alston.
The Broward Teachers union immediately jumped to the defense of the school staff, claiming that Cecil and the other staff may not have understood the new law.
“I don’t know if they even knew the law, understand the law, what training the district has given all of our athletic directors, all of out [sic] admins, all of our coaches on the law. There’s a lot that needs to be known here that is not known,” said Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco.
The text of the law states that “athletic teams or sports sponsored by … educational institutions be designated on the basis of students’ biological sex at birth.”
If an educator cannot understand what that means, perhaps he shouldn’t be an educator.
Emotions are running high in the school in the wake of the staff reassignments. Students supportive of Cecil and the other reassigned staff members staged multiple walkouts in support of the staff members whose positions are in limbo pending the outcome of the investigation.
“Right now [the male student on the girls’ volleyball team is] not being treated like a human, she’s not being treated like she’s worth anything to anyone,” said Jordan Campbell, the captain of the girls’ volleyball team. “The things people are saying in school and on social media is beyond disgusting. It is truly disgusting. She’s a human and deserves to be treated like one, how about we bring fairness into that? ‘Cause she’s not being treated like that right now.”
Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R) administration was clear on its position.
“Under Governor DeSantis, boys will never be allowed to play girls’ sports. It’s that simple,” a Department of Education spokesperson told NBC6 in MIami. “As soon as the Department was notified that a biological male was playing on a girls’ team in Broward County, we instructed the district to take immediate action since this is a direct violation of Florida law. It is completely unacceptable for the male student to have been allowed to play on a girls’ team, and we expect there will be serious consequences for those responsible.”
The social-justice types who believe that the Florida law is discriminatory would do well to look at the case of North Carolina girls’ volleyball player Payton McNabb. McNabb was seriously injured after a biologically male athlete spiked a ball in her face. McNabb has been suffering from impaired vision, partial paralysis, and constant headaches since the incident.
“Due to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association policy allowing biological males to compete against biological females my life has been forever changed,” McNabb told the North Carolina legislature in April. “Allowing biological males to compete against biological females is dangerous. I may be the first to come before you with an injury, but if this doesn’t pass I won’t be the last.”
As McNabb’s story illustrates, the transgender movement’s denial of objective reality, as it pertains to the reality of male and female, is not only culturally dangerous, but can be physically dangerous as well.
