On Friday, a federal court didn’t seem prepared to mandate that the Lake Oswego School District reinstate former track coach John Parks.
However, in court, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon stated that he thought Parks’ letter objecting to a transgender girl competing in a state track meet qualified as protected speech.
This past spring, Parks sent a message via email to the Oregon State School Activities Association, urging the creation of an open category just for transgender athletes.
Parks, who is now 62, filed a lawsuit against the school board and district in July, claiming that they had terminated his coaching contract and launched a retaliatory probe in violation of his First Amendment right to free expression.
To be honest, I believe that the email sent on May 15th qualifies as protected speech from a private individual, Simon stated.
However, Parks’ plea for the judge to direct the district to reinstate him as the head track coach and special education teaching assistant at Lake Oswego High School while his legal case is pending was the main issue on Friday’s court appearance.
According to Parks’ attorney, Buck Dougherty of the Texas-based Liberty Justice Center, a conservative legal organization, “we established a violation of his free speech.” He ought to get back to work.
Parks was never fired, according to lawyer Karen M. O. Kasey, who represented the board and school system. She claimed that the district was under no obligation to continue his temporary contracts as a head coach and teaching assistant because they had simply expired and had not been renewed.
In addition, O Kasey denied that Parks wrote the OSAA as a citizen, pointing out that the first line names Parks as the head track and field coach at Lake Oswego.
The letter began, “I am writing first as the head track coach at Lake Oswego High School, but secondarily as a coach in the sport at Olympic, NCAA, and professional ranks for decades prior to my current position.”
With the subject line “OSAA policy on transgender athletes ramifications,” he sent it at 1:31 a.m. on May 15. He claimed that the current OSAA policy was flawed and that a high-level transgender athlete competing for McDaniel High School would be a major distraction for all the athletes vying for the state championship, potentially depriving a two-time defending state champion on his team of a podium position.
He requested that the OSAA establish a separate, open division for transgender athletes to compete in.
Simon pointed out that Parks’ message was written on his personal email and was not related to his regular responsibilities as a track coach, thus the judge deemed it to be private speech.
Parks went on to coach in the state competition over the course of the following few days that month, and his Lake Oswego High girls team won the state championship, according to O Kasey, who maintained that the district did not take any action or retaliate against Parks for the letter.
After receiving his letter, the district just made sure Parks understood the necessity of keeping his concerns to himself while coaching at the state championships, according to O Kasey.
On the morning of May 18, Chris Coleman, the sports director, texted Parks, “We need to remind our kids to stay classy and respectful.” They have classmates and teammates that identify as transgender. They are speaking for themselves, but also for our school and team.
Coleman advised the coach to urge the students to refrain from acting rashly since their actions in the heat of the moment could result in a lot of backlash and bad publicity for the institution.
After the transgender athlete from McDaniel High lost a 400-meter race to his runner, the school district later found out that Parks had reportedly made a lewd comment at the state meet on Saturday.
According to O Kasey, the school district was compelled to launch an investigation after learning that Parks had behaved insubordinately, disrespectfully, and in an unworthy manner during the meeting.
According to the district, Parks was overheard by another coach saying, “She beat the (expletive) dude after his runner won.”
According to Dougherty, the district has never disclosed who claimed to have heard the alleged remark, and Lake Oswego High School principal Kristen Colyer’s June written findings that Parks was insubordinate and had discriminated against the McDaniel transgender athlete made no mention of it. He contended that the move to require the district to return Parks’ work was being introduced now in order to defeat it.
Dougherty stated that it is necessary to view the effin dude issue with caution. Dougherty questioned why the district invited Parks to reapply for the coaching position this past summer if it was so problematic.
Parks denied making the comment through his attorney during the court proceedings, and he reiterated this denial in a brief post-trial interview.
The district claims that Park never applied for the coaching position, while Park maintains that he did renew and submit an application.
According to Simon, he needs to balance the conflicting interests of the parties and take public policy and safety into account.
According to Simon, Parks would probably be compensated for previous issues and get monetary damages if he is correct that the district infringed his right to free speech and he ultimately wins at trial on the merits of his case.
However, the judge stated that as a private individual, he is not now subject to any restrictions on his right to free expression.
However, the court stated that he would probably be in violation of the district’s anti-discrimination and bullying policies if he made the insulting comment during the state meet while parents and other student athletes were present.
According to Simon, “restoring Parks to his coaching position at Lake Oswego High School could cause serious psychological harm to transgender athletes if he did refer to a transgender woman athlete as an effin dude.”
Parks is a skilled coach, according to Dougherty, who led the Lake Oswego girls’ track team to two state titles.
According to Dougherty, Parks’ contract was terminated in violation of his right to free speech, even though he had an ongoing understanding that it would carry over to the following school year.
According to O Kasey, Parks was aware that his teaching and coaching positions were only temporary and that no deal had been reached to prolong them for the upcoming academic or athletic year.
She stated that he is not employed at Lake Oswego. Nothing is wrong.
Parks stated that although he is not employed at the moment, he coaches track athletes privately, including the girls’ team from Lake Oswego.
The judge stated that after reviewing the arguments, he will decide in writing whether to compel the district to reinstate Parks. He urged the case’s parties to reach a consensus on a future trial date in the interim.
— Maxine Bernstein writes about criminal justice and federal courts. You may contact her at [email protected], 503-221-8212, or follow her on LinkedIn or X@maxoregonian.
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