–Girls Now Allowed to Compete–
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued the following statement after a Harrison County Circuit Court judge on Thursday heard a case involving the female middle school students who protested a recent appeals court ruling against West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act.
The judge issued a preliminary injunction, allowing the girls to compete in shotput at future track and field meets. The Attorney General filed an amicus brief in support of the female athletes.
“I want to say to these students and their parents: I have your backs. You saw unfairness and you expressed your disappointment and sacrificed your personal performances in a sport that you love; exercised your constitutionally protected freedom of speech and expression.
These girls didn’t disrupt anything when they protested. They should be commended, not punished. We need to teach them that it is noble to stand firm in their beliefs and address their grievances within the protections guaranteed by our constitution.
They need not to be silent. They have won by having their voices heard.
So glad we were able to weigh in on behalf of these courageous young girls and that they are able to play.”
Harrison County Board of Education Addresses LMS Protest
The Harrison County Board of Education has issued the following statement on Thursday, May 2nd, 2024:
The Harrison County Board of Education strongly denies any form of retaliation against the Lincoln Middle School students who voluntarily chose to scratch from an event at the Harrison County Middle School Championship Track Meet.
The students were permitted to engage in their selected form of protest without issue. In fact, the coaches and principal were aware of the likelihood of the protests and permitted the students to remain on the roster for their events.
Those students, like all of the other students on the team, however, were subject to a team rule that any player who scratches in an event cannot participate in that event at the next track meet. This neutral, school-specific rule was in place before the students’ protests and has nothing to do with those protests in any way.
Other than not being permitted to participate in the same event in which they scratched at the next track meet, the students have competed in track meets and events following their protests without restriction.
To be clear, no students have been retaliated against or penalized for expressing their views at the Harrison County Middle School Championship Track Meet.