Colorado high school volleyball players faced alleged benching threat amid trans athlete dispute

Two Colorado high school volleyball players were threatened with benching after discussing a transgender athlete in their program, according to a parent complaint alleging the girls were ultimately allowed to play on condition they stop discussing the issue. The school district that oversees the school, Jefferson County Schools, is currently under Title IX investigation by the U.S. Department of Education.

A screenshot of an email, obtained by OutKick, from Dakota Ridge High School’s head volleyball coach to a parent says the parent’s daughter would miss a match over reports of alleged bullying. The screenshot does not identify the actual words that were used.

“Over the past several days, we have received multiple reports alleging that your daughter used language toward teammates that could be characterized as bullying,” the message bearing the coach’s name states.

“As a result, your daughter will not be eligible to participate in today’s match.”

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The message says the volleyball program emphasizes character, respect and how players treat one another, describing the reported behavior as falling short of its standards. It offers to discuss the matter with the parent after the match.

Meanwhile, Tanna Donalson, whose daughter was cut from the program in August, wrote in an Oct. 6 email to district that her daughter had reported two varsity players were told they would be benched after discussing the situation among friends. Donalson said she was subsequently informed that, after the players’ parents met with the coach and the athletic director, the girls were permitted to play on condition they not discuss the issue again.

The email was seen by OutKick in a copy of a Title IX complaint Donalson submitted to the Education Department.

“[The daughter] reported that Mr. Zeman pulled three varsity volleyball players aside and told two of them they would be benched for today’s game because they had discussed this issue amongst themselves. According to the account relayed to me, four friends had been discussing privately what they had learned, and one reported the conversation to a teacher. I was further informed that, after the two players’ parents met with the athletic director and Mr. Zeman, the players were permitted to play on the condition that they not discuss the issue again,” Donalson wrote.

“Please determine what was said, the basis for the proposed benching, and whether participation was conditioned on refraining from discussion of or support for our complaint.”

Lindsay Datko, founder of the parent advocacy group Jeffco Kids First, also said she had reviewed emails concerning the threatened discipline.

“We have seen emails showing that girls were threatened to be benched because they were expressing their frustration in a very adolescent manner,” Datko told OutKick.

But Datko added the coach backed away from the threatened benching.

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Jeffco Chief Legal Counsel Julie Tolleson acknowledged Donalson’s report in an Oct. 6 email response.

“She can include these matters in her review, though we won’t be able to discuss with you any disciplinary or other action involving any other student,” Tolleson wrote, referring to the district’s Title IX coordinator.

A day earlier, Tolleson had instructed Donalson to report any retaliation or harassment related to her complaint.

“District policy prohibits retaliation,” she wrote.

In response to OutKick, Jeffco defended its policies and cited student privacy restrictions. Its statement did not address the alleged condition on the players’ participation or explain what remarks prompted the proposed discipline.

The school district provided the following response in full:

“We recognize that fairness in athletics, student safety, privacy, and equitable opportunities for students are important issues for our community.

“In accordance with Colorado state law (including the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act), Jeffco Public Schools is committed to providing a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for all students. Jeffco’s policies ensure that every student, regardless of gender identity or expression, has equal access to educational programs, facilities, and district-sanctioned activities.

“High School Athletics: Jeffco Public Schools operates high school athletic programs under the governing bylaws of the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) and Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.

“District Policies on Equal Educational Opportunities Jeffco Public Schools’ nondiscrimination policies—including Policy AC (Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity) and related guidance—remain fully active and in effect.

“Under federal law (FERPA) and state privacy regulations, Jeffco Public Schools cannot confirm, deny, or comment on the gender identity, administrative records, or athletic participation of any individual student.

“We are navigating a complex national climate, but our local commitment remains steady: all students deserve to feel safe, respected, and supported in Jeffco Public Schools. We support and value all members of our Jeffco community, including our transgender students and staff members.

“Jeffco Public Schools is committed to cultivating environments where all students, staff, families, and members of our community are accepted, respected, and feel that their voices and perspectives are valued. While people may have differing views on Jeffco policies and the laws that inform them, we all share a responsibility to ensure our words and actions reflect care and respect for others. We ask everyone in our community to respect individual privacy and remember that real children and families are at the heart of these conversations.

“Jeffco will continue to follow all state laws and regulations with respect to our schools, athletic programs, and students’ rights. Our responsibility – and steadfast commitment – remains to serve every student and ensure that our schools are places where all students can learn, grow, and thrive.”

Donalson’s own complaint centers on the roster decision that ended her daughter’s junior-year school volleyball season.

Her daughter, 17, had played in the program during her freshman and sophomore years. Her mother said coaches encouraged the setter to learn right-side hitting before ultimately cutting her.

In an Aug. 13 email, the coach said the change was intended to give her daughter another opportunity to demonstrate her skills. He said other athletes showed greater consistency in setting, defense, serving, decision-making and other areas, and described the roster decisions as a collective coaching evaluation.

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“She competed for a spot, other athletes ultimately demonstrated more consistency in the areas needed, and she was beat out,” he wrote.

The coach is also her daughter’s history teacher. Correspondence documents Donalson’s request for a different placement and the school’s offer of a teacher change for second semester. Donalson responded that she wanted to give the situation a few weeks before deciding. She explicitly told school officials she was not alleging that classroom retaliation had occurred.

Asked whether her family had experienced retaliation since speaking publicly, she said she had reported that some students made comments to her daughter, but their family had received substantially more support than opposition.

“We have received far more support than we have anything opposite of that,” she said.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued findings March 13 that the district violated Title IX through its policies on girls’ athletics and access to female facilities and overnight accommodations. OCR issued a notice of impending enforcement action June 26. Jeffco disputes those findings.

The district sued Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the Education Department on July 28, challenging the enforcement actions and arguing that the federal demands conflict with Colorado law and threaten its funding. That lawsuit concerns the district’s broader policies, rather than a determination about Donalson’s daughter’s roster decision.

Colorado voters will consider Proposition 134 on Nov. 3. The measure would require school-based teams to be designated for biological males, biological females or mixed participation, with eligibility tied to those categories and an exception allowing females to join male teams when no equivalent female team is offered.

“I am not against the trans community or any community for that matter,” Donalson said when asked about the measure.

For Donalson and her daughter, she says the impact of the situation has been “deep and wide,” and has jeopardized her daughter’s dreams of playing in college.

“She still has those dreams, it’s a little difficult to figure out how we’re going to achieve them, as this is her junior year, and arguably her most important year, because that is when you start communicating with coaches,” Donalson said. “And right now we have nothing to share.”

She said her daughter still plans to play club volleyball and pursue college opportunities. But losing her school season has affected how she experiences the sport.

“Every time she plays, she just remembers all that’s transpired here, and it just has taken a little bit of the joy of the sport out of it for her,” Donalson said.