Lawsuit Filed Against School District After Track Coach Fired For Proposing Open Division For Trans Runners
John Parks has trained runners at the high school, collegiate, and Olympic levels for more than forty years, but was recently fired as the track and field coach at Lake Oswego High School in Oregon for fighting for fairness in women's sports. Now, a law firm is fighting on his behalf by filing a First Amendment lawsuit against the school district.
Parks wrote letters to Executive Director of the Oregon Student Activities Association (OSAA), Peter Weber, and to state Sen. Rob Wagner urging them to create an "open" division for transgender athletes to compete in. He was motivated to write these letters after trans student-athlete Aayden Gallagher won a girl's event at the Oregon state championship in May and was booed by some in attendance. Parks coached two female athletes who competed against Gallagher.
According to his explanation of the situation, Parks' letters and proposal for an open division seem to have been misconstrued. His proposal was in no way an attempt to stop transgender athletes from competing. Instead, he was looking to create a space for the athletes to be celebrated.
"In my dismissal, they were trying to use the words that I was trying to ‘stop’ them from competing. I never did that," Parks explained. "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 award their efforts, but not take away from the female athletes that were naturally born females who are in a whole different competition level," Parks told OutKick's Riley Gaines in June, a month after writing his letters.
READ: Change.org Petition Started For HS Track Coach Fired For Defending Women's Sports
Parks further reiterated that he is in no way, shape, or form attempting to dismiss transgender athletes from sports in his statement to the Liberty Justice Center, which has filed the lawsuit on his behalf.
"I’m a staunch defender of transgender rights. For decades, I’ve been a voice for equitable and inclusive treatment for students with a wide variety of gender and sexual identities, on the track and in the classroom," Parks stated. "And I’ve seen that these athletic controversies are drawing negative attention to the trans community. Trans athletes have a right to compete, but their bodies have major physical advantages over other students."
John Parks was terminated for defending women's sports, and now a lawsuit has been filed on his behalf. Getty Images/Creative
Fired High School Track Coach Seeks Fairness In Sport, Not Discrimination Towards Trans Community
Parks simply believes that transgender athletes have every right to compete, but also recognizes that biological females should not be forced to compete against biological males. That belief is similar to plenty, if not the majority, of people out there who are paying attention to what is taking place in sports, yet Parks was fired for sharing that opinion and actively trying to find a solution to the issue.
The governing body that regulates high school sports in Oregon, and certainly the school district that terminated him, do not appear to be all that interested in a solution. Student-athletes in Oregon are allowed to compete in the division of their asserted gender identity, which is a direct conflict with the World Athletics Council's rules of competition.
The Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit against the Lake Oswego School District and Lake Oswego School Board on Parks' behalf on July 24, arguing that the District and Board fired him in retaliation for writing the letter and thereby violated his constitutional rights to free speech and to due process. The lawsuit urges the court to restore his coaching position and to uphold his First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
"Coach Parks was retaliated against, falsely accused of discriminatory behavior, denied an appeal, and fired—just for exercising his constitutional right to free speech as a private citizen," said Buck Dougherty, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, in a prepared statement. "We are proud to stand up for his constitutional rights through this lawsuit, and we look forward to holding the District and the Board accountable for this egregious violation of free speech and due process."