An athletic director in Southeast Michigan was placed on leave after he made comments on a podcast supporting a transgender athlete from another school.
Speaking during an upcoming episode of the Uncloseted Media podcast, Chet Hesson, of Monroe Public Schools, voiced his support for an alleged transgender athlete involved in a Title IX issue at another school.
In a statement obtained by CBS News, Monroe Public Schools superintendent Andrew Shaw said Hesson wasn't authorized to speak on the matter.
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"Monroe Public Schools only issues official statements through the Office of the Superintendent or the Board President. Individual staff members expressing their personal opinions do not express the official position of the District," the statement said.
The district continued, "At this time the District stands by its original statement regarding the pending Title IX investigation. We are committed to our process and will provide you with an official statement after the investigation is complete."
The podcast will reportedly cover a parent of a Monroe (Mich.) High School girls’ volleyball player who launched a federal complaint with the Department of Education against the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
According to ABC 13, the Monroe High School girls’ volleyball team competed against Skyline High School this fall without being made aware that Skyline’s team included a transgender athlete. That information made its way to the Monroe team a few weeks after the match.
In a short clip from the upcoming episode that was shared on Instagram, Hesson said, "For this alleged student at Skyline, my heart goes to them, whether they're trans or not. Just having that much negative eyeball on you and rhetoric is incredible. The amount of pressure you feel as a 16- or 17- or 18-year-old to have to deal with that... I would not wish that on anybody."
The complaint claims that during one of the matchups at Monroe, the students from both teams shared a locker room, which constitutes "a violation of privacy and bodily integrity protections under Title IX."
