MAGA dad silenced by Maine school board chair after speaking out against boys in girls' sports

A Maine man was silenced during a school board meeting this week after he spoke out against boys playing on sports teams meant for girls.

On Wednesday evening, Nick Blanchard and others concerned about boys in girls' sports attended a board of education meeting in the capital city of Augusta. Decked out in a "Make America Great Again" hat and a T-shirt warning Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, "You're fired," Blanchard went to the podium during the public comment portion to address several steps that had been taken on the issue in the district lately.

Back in March, six of the seven education board members voted to restore the 2020 understanding of Title IX, which excluded males from female teams. One board member voted against the move.

"Good job and thank you to the six members that voted to go back to the 2020 interpretation of Title IX, and shame on the one board member that voted no," Blanchard stated.

At that point, Chair Martha Witham interrupted Blanchard and averred: "I’m sorry, but negative comments will not be allowed."

Blanchard then shifted gears and began discussing a Change.org petition he had launched to remove Kim Liscomb as the principal of Cony Middle and High School. Liscomb also happens to be the current president of the Maine Principals’ Association, a group that supports trans-identifying male athletes joining girls' teams as part of the Maine Human Rights Act.

"Most of you have heard by now that I started a petition that Augusta concerned parents, both Republican and Democrat, are signing," Blanchard explained. "I’m asking if you, the school board members, will put up a vote to have Ms. Kim—"

Before Blanchard finished his sentence, Witham interrupted him again, insisting that his comments were "defamatory." When Blanchard asked Witham to clarify in what way they were "defamatory," Witham apparently dodged the question.

"I don’t have to explain it to you," she shot back, adding, "These comments will not be tolerated at the meeting directed toward us or to anybody else in this room."

'Communist China right here!'

Blanchard then tried another approach, referring to Liscomb abstractly as "someone who is the president of the Maine Principal’s Association," but that attempt did nothing to placate Witham.

"Nope, close enough. I’m sorry, you’re done, Mr. Blanchard," Witham said before ordering him to leave the podium.

Blanchard eventually complied but lodged one final retort on his way out: "Communist China right here!" Some of his allies, all dressed in red, then left the meeting, WMTW-TV reported, though whether Blanchard left with them is unclear.

The outlet further claimed that Blanchard's petition to oust Liscomb had been "gaining traction" recently, collecting nearly 1,000 signatures. However, as of Friday morning, Blanchard's Change.org petition appears to have gathered barely 150 signatures, though a similar petition to remove Liscomb started by another angry Augusta parent has crested 1,000 signatures.

In his petition, Blanchard aligns himself with "other parents and students" in Augusta who take issue with the MPA allowing "biological boys to participate in women's sports without due consideration of the concerns raised by parents and students alike.

"This decision undermines the spirit of fair competition that our school and community strive to uphold, and strikes a blow against gender equality."

Superintendent of Schools Michael Tracy Jr. seemed to shrug off the incident at the school board meeting as "national partisan politics manifesting in local government/school affairs."

"We value community voices and concerns, but there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding regarding appropriate channels for policy change," Tracy wrote in an email, according to WMTW.

Official Augusta School Board policies require members to respect "parents as partners in decisions affecting children and families" and encourage "parent involvement through PTO groups and Board and school advisory committees."

In a statement, the Maine Principals’ Association stood by Liscomb, claiming she had "faithfully executed her duties" and would be missed after her one-year rotation as president ends this summer.

"Recently, there has been local attention focused on her, which could be related to the Maine Principals' Association's policy on sports participation," the MPA statement continued. "If Congress or the State Legislature changes the law, we will adapt our policy accordingly."

Maine has until Friday to amend its policies to accord with the federal ban on male participation in female sports. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 5 to keep men out of women's sports and "to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities."

The state filed a lawsuit earlier this week, accusing the Trump administration of "illegally withholding grant funds that go to keeping children fed."

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