Adults interrupt track meet to accuse 9-year-old girl of being transgender, parents say
The parents of a 9-year-old athlete say their daughter was brought to tears after an adult interrupted a track meet to accuse the girl of being transgender in Canada, reports say.
The girl was competing in a shot put event organized by Okanagan Public Schools in Kelowna, British Columbia, on June 8 when the grandfather of another competitor started yelling at her, Castanet reported.
“She went up to compete for the grade four shot put final, and right before she went to throw, a grandfather of a student said ‘hey, this is supposed to be a girls’ event, and why are you letting boys compete?’” the girl’s mom told the outlet. “My daughter is cisgender…uses she/her pronouns. She has a pixie haircut.”
The girl’s mom says the man then demanded she prove her daughter’s sex, pointed at another girl with short hair and accused her of being trans before his wife called the girl’s mother “a genital mutilator, a groomer, and a pedophile,” the outlet reported.
Staff asked the man to leave because he was being disruptive and then moved the event to another location, Newsweek reported.
“We are taking steps to ensure the persons who made inappropriate comments are not permitted at our events in the future,” superintendent Kevin Kaardal told McClatchy News. The school district is investigating the incident and plans to prevent him from accessing school events, he added.
The adults’ behavior is at odds with the “safe and inclusive environment” the district promotes, he said. Incidentally, the school district’s theme this year is “creating caring communities.”
“The behavior of these adults was so wildly inappropriate,” he said. “Adults need to govern themselves and treat everyone with civility and respect. We expect it of our students so we expect it of our adults too.”
It left the competitor shaken, sobbing, and unable to focus on the rest of the event, the girl’s mom told Newsweek.
“She said, ‘I think I would have placed if that man hadn’t shouted at me,’” the outlet reported.
“This has destroyed our beautiful daughter’s confidence and she was inconsolably crying during this whole event and continued once it was over and we were leaving,” the girl’s mom told KelownaNow, adding the damage “could very well stay with her for life.”
The incident comes as at least 22 states in the United States have banned transgender student athletes from playing on teams that match with their gender identity.
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