Florida sports association declines to lower $16,500 fine in Monarch High School's transgender athlete case

Scott Travis, South Florida Sun Sentinel
·2 min read

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A state association has denied Monarch High School’s request for a reduction of a $16,500 fine imposed after the revelation that a transgender girl played on the school’s volleyball team.

The Florida High School Sports Association, which regulates competitive athletics in state high schools, imposed a series of sanctions Dec. 12, saying the school violated the 2021 “Fairness in Women’s Sports” law, which bans students who were born male from playing on girls’ sports teams in public schools.

The sanctions included a ban on the student playing competitive sports until November, and the district going through a series of trainings. Monarch didn’t dispute those penalties but did ask on Dec. 18 that a $16,500 fine be reduced.

The association said the fine was based on a penalty of $500 per contest. The student participated in 33 games during the fall of 2022 and the fall of 2023.

“The request for a reduction in the fines imposed on Monarch High School is denied,” Craig Damon, executive director of the Florida High School Athletic Association, wrote Tuesday in an email to Moira Sweeting-Miller, who is filling in temporarily as Monarch’s principal.

The email did not state the reason for the denial. Damon wrote that Monarch “may elect to pursue due process on this decision through our appeals process.”

It’s unclear whether the school plans to appeal.

“The option will be considered,” district spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion said. “Once a decision is made, we will let you know.”

The incident involving the transgender athlete has created a controversy in the district. Although the student’s family sued the district and the state in 2021, Superintendent Peter Licata, who started in July, said he was unaware of the student’s participation until November.

Licata then launched an internal investigation and suspended or temporarily reassigned five school officials, including Principal James Cecil and Jessica Norton, an information management specialist who is the mother of the student athlete.

The district’s investigation is expected to be completed next month. A federal judge sided against the student’s family in the lawsuit, but allowed the family to file an amended complaint, which the Norton family filed earlier this month.

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