Citing misgendering, California library ejects forum on female sports

Citing misgendering, library staff in Davis, California, ejected a forum in progress on "Fair and Safe Sport for Girls" hosted by local parents on the California Interscholastic Federation's participation policies for transgender athletes in high school girls' sports.

Organizers for the event, including Yolo County Mothers for Liberty Chairwoman Beth Bourne, had paid the $75 fee to reserve the room at Mary L. Stephens Davis Library, as they had done for several prior events of a similar nature at the same facility.

"The policies CIF has in place affect 320,000 girls in California, and yet very few parents and even athletes themselves understand where the policies originated and how they are expected to be enforced at the schools," said Bourne in a phone interview with The Center Square. "We want to bring transparency to high school sports and these policies, and how they impose risks and reduce girls' opportunities to excel in sports."

The event, held on a Sunday evening, featured speakers including Sophia Lorey, Outreach Director for the California Family Council, Kim Jones, Co-founder of the Independent Council on Women's Sports, Bourne, and local parent Allie Snyder. Organizers issued invitations to city council and school board members, county supervisors, coaches, athletic directors, neighborhood groups, community leaders, and civic groups to raise awareness for the event, which ultimately drew 75 individuals. Organizers say one-third of those who came opposed the event.

Shortly after the event began, Library Regional Manager for Yolo County, D. Scott Love, disbanded the event, citing misgendering by Lorey. Lorey, who was introducing the event, had used the term biological male to describe transgender male-to-female athletes, which Love considered to be misgendering.

Before the event, Love told organizers that misgendering would result in individuals being given one warning before being asked to leave, as doing so would be disrespectful and thus a violation of the library's code of conduct.

In a video on social media, Love can be heard saying to Lorey, "I asked you to leave earlier…you are misgendering...you were saying male in female sports…if she does not leave the building, I will shut this program down."

When the event was shut down, organizers moved the event to the public park next door.

"We're peaceful – we didn't want anything to escalate, so we decided to relocate. We went to the park next to the library and were able to continue our discussion here. It was unfortunate because we had Kim Jones of ICON give a [remote] presentation on the importance of Title IX and women's sports, and she was not able to speak," said Snyder. "This really shows the intolerance of people who have been captured by gender ideology. They are unable and unwilling to listen to other points of view."

Snyder was confused by the library's decision to halt this specific event, especially considering that it had hosted several similar events with the same organizers before, though not without difficulties. While the parents had succeeded in hosting a film screening, a talk with an evolutionary biologist on binary gender, and several book events, issues such as having to include a disclaimer about the library's lack of ideological support for the event not applied to other organizations, including those opposed to the group and more actively supported by the library have left parents unhappy with how the library is handling the situation.

In response to the event's removal from the library, organizers say they are considering a lawsuit on Constitutional grounds.

While the Yolo County Library was reached, they did not respond to requests for comment. The day after the event, the library was evacuated due to a bomb threat, which may have interfered with staff's ability to complete their response to the inquiry from The Center Square.