A Utah official is facing calls to resign after she falsely insinuated that a 16-year-old basketball player was transgender, leading to online harassment of the teen and police protection.
Earlier this week, Utah State Board of Education member Natalie Cline made a Facebook post featuring a flyer for a high school basketball game and showing members of a girls team.
“Girls’ basketball...” she wrote as the caption, apparently suggesting that the 16-year-old seen in the post was actually a boy.
Comments soon flooded the post, with users verbally attacking the teen and discussing her personal information.
“All of the girls on both teams should boycott the games until he is removed from playing,” one Facebook comment read, referring to the girl.
“My neighbors don’t tolerate this crap and I know they’d bring it up at the game,” another person said.
“Start calling the principal and shaming them,” a third comment read.
The girl’s father told KSL-TV that Cline’s Facebook post led to a wave of hate against his daughter.
“Here’s a person that is supposed to be in a position of leadership that advocates for our children’s safety ... and she’s the one who has instigated this post that has led to all this hate,” he told the NBC affiliate.
The torrent of harassment led to the girl needing police protection, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The Granite School District, which includes the girls basketball team, released a statement saying that it was “taking additional precautions for the safety and security of the school” following the post.
Cline removed the Facebook post and released a statement Wednesday apologizing to the girl and her family, while still defending her actions and placing blame on the transgender community.
“For those who are still claiming the student is a boy, please know that several people I know and trust have reached out to me who personally know this girl and have vouched that she is in fact a biological girl and always has been since birth,” Cline wrote.
“She does have a larger build, like her parents. 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 added that her post incorrectly assuming the girl’s gender was “a sad consequence of the trans movement being foisted upon us, which puts us all in a difficult spot. Nobody wants to question if a kid is the gender they say they are.”
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson on Wednesday released a joint statement saying that Cline had “embarrassed the state of Utah and State Board of Education.”
“We were stunned to learn of the unconscionable behavior of board member Cline and others toward a high school student today,” they said. “The last thing our children need is an elected official harassing them on social media.”
In a statement Thursday, the Utah State Board of Education condemned Cline’s actions in her Facebook post.
“Board Leadership is very concerned about this post and the harm it has caused to students and families in Utah,” the statement said. “We are deeply saddened by the events that have taken place and will be taking prompt action regarding this matter as determined by the full Board.”
The statement added that the board “has no power or authority to unseat an elected official.”
The teen’s parents, along with state lawmakers, are calling on Cline to resign. The girl’s mother told KSL-TV that she had to tell her daughter about the Facebook post because the teen doesn’t use social media on her phone.
“It just broke our hearts that we needed to have this conversation with our daughter,” the mother said.