A Christian physical education teacher was suspended after openly expressing his unwillingness to adhere to “gender-expansive” rules. After he filed a lawsuit against the district, the judge issued an unexpected ruling.
At a Loudoun County school board meeting, a Virginia teacher put his career on the line to publicly speak out against the district’s proposed “gender-expansive” policy. As a Leesburg Elementary School P.E. teacher and dedicated Christian, Byron “Tanner” Cross couldn’t sit by while his young students were threatened with the anti-science new-age doctrine.
The left has made it clear that there is only one political view allowed in academia and anyone who deviates from such dogma must be punished. While the fear of losing one’s job and suffering a public backlash has silenced most, there are still a handful of good teachers who are standing in between our children and the government machine.
In a rousing speech, Cross took the school board to task for pushing physically and psychologically harmful rules that not only sexualize children but confuse them. If accepted, the policy would force staff members to use students’ preferred pronouns and permit students to participate in activities and access areas according to their gender identity and not their biological sex, The Blaze reports.
“My name is Tanner Cross and I am speaking out of love for those who are suffering from gender dysphoria,” Cross said at the opening of his speech. “’60 Minutes’ this past Sunday interviewed over 30 young people who transitioned, but they felt led astray because of lack of pushback or how easy it was to make physical changes to their bodies in just three months. They are now de-transitioning,” he continued.
Cross not only laid out the scientific evidence for rejecting such a policy but also invoked his Christian faith. He explained that he will not violate his religious beliefs to affirm someone else’s beliefs and will continue to treat children as children.
“It’s not my intention to hurt anyone, but there are certain truths that we must face when ready. We condemn school policies like 8040 and [8350] because it will damage children [and] defile the holy image of God,” Cross added. “I love all of my students but I will never lie to them regardless of the consequences. I’m a teacher, but I serve God first and I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl, and vice versa, because it’s against my religion,” he explained. “It’s lying to a child, it’s abuse to a child, and it’s sinning against our God.”
Almost immediately following his speech, Cross was suspended and placed on administrative leave. The district also barred the teacher from school property, denying it was his speech that prompted his removal but a “disruption” that occurred because of his words.
Once again refusing to cave to the establishment, Cross filed a lawsuit against the district. An investigation found that there was no evidence to support the district’s claim, as just six parents had called to complain. However, it was the judge’s final decision that surprised the public.
The court ruled that the district had violated Cross’ rights by suspending him because his speech was constitutionally protected. Judge James E. Plowman Jr. acknowledged that Cross was “speaking as a citizen” in a “forum where public comment was invited,” which is within his rights.
The judge slammed the district’s suspension of Cross as “unnecessary and vindictive.” He ordered that Cross be reinstated immediately and suffer no further retaliation from the district.
Cross was allowed to return to his position in the classroom and chose to continue pursuing the lawsuit against the district. He refused to give up fighting not only for his own rights but to protect his vulnerable students.
It’s incredibly disturbing to see individuals punished for invoking their constitutional rights and even more ominous for a government body to retaliate against a private citizen for criticizing a government policy that hasn’t even been established. Until more educators, parents, and civil servants rise up against this abuse, our children will continue to suffer the impact.
