SALT LAKE CITY — After receiving criticism for comments that appeared to insinuate that a female high school athlete in northern Utah was transgender, a member of the state's Board of Education apologized and removed her social media post.
In the Facebook post on Tuesday evening featuring a flyer for an upcoming girls' basketball game, Natalie Cline wrote "[Constitutionally Protected Speech] Girl's basketball."
The comment and post from Cline was widely taken to mean that a teenage member of the girl's team was, in fact, a boy.
On Wednesday afternoon, Cline removed the post, issuing an apology for the "negative attention [the] post drew to innocent students and their families."
However, Cline later commented that her deleted post never claimed the student was a boy, adding, "We live in strange times when it is normal to pause and wonder if people are what they say they are because of the push to normalize transgenderism in our society."
Cline went on to say that the girl in question is indeed a "biological girl and always has been since birth. She does have a larger build, like her parents."
Several groups, including Utah's governor and lieutenant governor, condemned Cline for her post.
“We were stunned to learn of the unconscionable behavior of board member Cline and others toward a high school student today. The last thing our children need is an elected official harassing them on social media," a joint statement from Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson read. "Sadly, this is not the first time that board member Cline has embarrassed the state of Utah and State Board of Education. We urge the State Board of Education to hold her accountable and we commend Granite School District for taking swift action to protect this student’s safety and well-being.”
The Granite School District, where the girl's team is located, spoke out earlier Wednesday evening.
"We have significant concerns with the apparent intent of Board Member Cline’s post and are working to ensure the safety and wellbeing of this student," the district said in a statement. "We are also taking additional precautions for the safety and security of the school as the comments on the post indicated the potential for a significant disruption to the educational and extracurricular activities associated with this campus."
In a statement of its own Wednesday, Equality Utah said Cline's comments had reached a new level of "depravity and bullying."
"Cline’s post perpetuates a modern day witch-hunt, where hysterical adults police the bodies of children to determine if they are masculine or feminine enough," the organization's statement read. "Two weeks ago, the Salt Lake Tribune reported a similar incident, where a parent stopped a high school girls basketball game and demanded to know if a particular player was transgender. She was not.
"These actions are callous and cruel. No child, be they straight, gay, or transgender, should be mocked and humiliated by elected officials."
In recent years, Cline has faced controversy and condemnation for saying schools were "complicit" in sex trafficking and that they brainwash children into "queer, gender bending ideologies."
Cline is up for re-election this year.
