Oregon Track and Field Coach Sues School District After Alleged Firing Over Transgender Athlete Dispute
An Oregon track and field coach has filed a lawsuit against his former school district after claiming he was fired for expressing concerns about laws related to transgender athletes.
John Parks, who coached at Lake Oswego High School, claims he lost his job last month following his correspondence with state officials about the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports. Parks discussed the issue during an appearance on Outkick’s “Gaines for Girls,” hosted by former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines. He recounted an incident involving a women’s 400-meter event that featured a transgender athlete, a biological male who identified as female, causing distress among his female athletes and their parents.
“It caused great distress to them in the lead up to it,” Parks said. “Their parents were very concerned and had issues with…. but they [were] afraid to speak out in any way… they very much want to support all students and transgender students in every way. But, they just felt like it was putting them under an unfair stress to have to race in this kind of conditions where this trans athlete [had] just recently transitioned [and] was a bodybuilder before.”
In response to the incident, Parks sent letters to an official at the Oregon Student Activities Association. He also sent a letter to state Senator Rob Wagner. In these letters, he argued that state laws permitting biological males to compete in women’s sports were detrimental to female athletes. He referenced hormone testing mandates by the International Olympic Committee and proposed an open category for all athletes, including those who identify as transgender.
“The OSAA competition rules need to be aligned with what the rest of the world competes under,” Parks wrote to Senator Wagner. “My proposal to encourage transgender participation is to offer an open division that is so named so it doesn’t identify or discriminate but offers an opportunity to participate.”
Following the letters, Parks’ employment was terminated. A spokesperson for the Lake Oswego School District confirmed Parks was no longer employed but did not provide details regarding the termination, according to Fox News.
“All I was advocating for… [was] an open division that would allow competition so that the fans could cheer the transgender athletes separately and recognize and reward their efforts,” Parks explained on the podcast with Gaines. “But not take away from the female athletes that were naturally born females that are in a whole different competition level.”
