(KELOWNA, Canada) — A couple who allegedly harassed and “accosted” a 9-year-old girl and her family at a track meet, claiming the athlete was trans and shouldn’t be playing on the girls team, will be banned from the school district’s events and property, according to school officials.
The incident occurred last week at a track meet for elementary students in Kelowna, British Columbia in Canada, Superintendent of Central Okanagan Public Schools Kevin Kaardal told ABC News.
According to local reports of the incident, a man demanded that the girl show certification of her sex – claiming she’s not a girl, was trans, and should not be competing.
Heidi Starr, the mother of the girl, told news outlets that the man halted the entire event and that the man’s wife began calling her a “genital mutilator” and “pedophile.”
The young athlete is a cisgender girl, born female, with a short haircut, according to her mother.
ABC News has reached out to the man who was allegedly involved in the incident, Josef Tesar, who told CTV News Vancouver that he never berated Starr or her daughter. Instead, he said he privately asked an event official whether it was a co-ed event since he believed she was a boy.
The district confirmed the incident with ABC News and said it is taking steps to ban the people involved from district property and events.
According to Kaardal, the “person(s) who accosted the student and family was not from one of our Central Okanagan Public Schools.”
“The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, which includes protecting human rights and ensuring safe, inclusive places to learn and work,” Kaardal said in a statement. “We expect that adults who are invited to celebrate student success govern their behaviour and conduct themselves with civility and respect.”
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, denounced the incident on Twitter, saying “This kind of hate is not acceptable or welcome in British Columbia.”
“Let’s keep calling out transphobia when we see it,” he said in the post. “Hate hurts everyone. And let’s stand with this girl and everyone who is targeted just for being themselves.”
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