The judge says that the former coach was ‘in the middle of protected speech’ in the inclusion of the opposition athlete in the girls’ competition.
A former track coach is fighting to get his job back, saying the school district he was fired from violated his free speech, and a federal judge in the case could agree.
John Parks is taking legal action after allegedly being kicked out of Lake Oswego High School for sending a letter to Oregon state officials about rules surrounding transgender athletes.
The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) states that students can compete based on their “overly asserted gender identity.”
Additionally, OSAA rules state that “if a transgender student informs the student’s school of their gender identity, the student will always be treated as that gender for purposes of athletic eligibility and activities, as long as the student tries out or participates in an activity, the student may not participate during that season on a team of the other gender. “
CLICK HERE TO WATCH ONE OF THE GAMES ON FOXNEWS.COM
John Parks coached girls track and field at Lake Oswego High School in Oregon. (Fox Stories)
In May, Parks wrote a letter to the OSAA urging the state to adopt a transgender athlete policy similar to World Aquatics by creating an open division where “all sexes and genders” are welcome to compete. He also sent letters to Sen. Rob Wagner, including one following the Oregon state championships. In the letters, Parks said state laws, as currently written, hurt girls’ sports.
At Friday’s hearing, Parks’ attorney said the district’s decision to fire Parks after the email was a “violation of her free speech,” and she should be “reinstated,” according to Oregon Live.
US District Judge Michael H. Simon said during the trial that he believed the email “[fell] within the protected speech of a private citizen.”
Parks is seeking a court order to return to her job as a school track coach and special education assistant while the case is pending. The district, however, says he was not fired. It says his temporary contracts are up, the school didn’t need to extend them.
A track and field runner during warm-up. (Photos by John Walton/PA via Getty Images)
SCHOOL DISTRICT DEFENDS DECISION TO BAN PARENTS WEARING ‘XX’ T-SHIRTS AT FEMALE AND TRANS ATHLETE GAME.
Buck Dougherty, senior attorney at the Liberty Justice Center, said in a statement in July, “Coach Parks was retaliated against, falsely accused of discriminatory conduct, denied an appeal and fired — simply for exercising his constitutional right to free speech as a private citizen. .”
A spokesperson for the Lake Oswego School District previously confirmed that Parks was no longer employed by the district. The school district has stopped getting involved in situations surrounding Park’s departure.
Former Oregon high school track coach John Parks. (OutKick)
CLICK HERE FOR THE NEWS PROGRAM
Transgender runner Aayden Gallagher of McDaniel High School won the Oregon 6A 200-meter state title by two-tenths of a second and beat one of Parks’ runners in another race. Lake Oswego, coached by Parks, won the team championship.
Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick, Ryan Gaydos and Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on Xand register at the Fox News Sports Huddle.
