A Vermont Christian school was banned from competing in sports tournaments after its girls basketball team refused to compete against another school with a transgender player.

At an out-of-state tournament in February, Mid Vermont Christian School’s girls basketball team wouldn’t play against Long Trail School — a 6th-through-12th grade school — because Long Trail’s team had a transgender player, according to The Guardian.

In response, the Vermont Principals’ Association, which sponsors the state’s school sports, released a statement Monday announcing that Mid Vermont — a pre-K-through-12th-grade school — had violated its policies that prohibit discrimination based on a student’s gender or sex.

The Christian school will be banned from competing in all future tournaments sponsored by the VPA in all sports.

The head of Mid Vermont Christian School, Vicky Fogg, said in a statement shared with Insider that the school is disappointed in the VPA’s decision, and plans to appeal the ban.

“Canceling our membership is not a solution and does nothing to deal with the very real issue of safety and fairness facing women’s sports in our beloved state,” Fogg said in a statement.

“We urge the VPA to reconsider its policies, and balance the rights of every athlete in the state.”

At the time of the tournament, the No. 12 seed Mid Vermont team had five wins and 12 losses for the season, while the No. 5 seed Long Trail team had been performing much better, with a 14-6 record, according to local outlet Bennington Banner.

After Mid Vermont pulled out, Long Trail lost to their next competitor in the playoffs, the fourth-seeded Arlington Memorial, 45-26.

Mid Vermont defended its decision to forfeit the tournament.

“We withdrew from the tournament because we believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players,” Mid Vermont said in a statement obtained by The Guardian.

“Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”

The issue of trans players playing on teams that match their gender identity has been a hot topic across the country in recent months as more than 18 states have passed bills banning transgender athletes from competing on girls and womens school teams, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

In one case, The Washington Post reported that a Kentucky law targeting transgender student-athletes applied to only one child.

Mid Vermont Christian School and Long Trail School did not immediately reply to Insider’s request for comment.

Melanie Walsh, a psychology professor at the University of New Haven, said legislation and actions that isolate and target trans individuals can lead to internalized transphobia and self-hatred.

“If you’re receiving a lot of negative messages about your identity and who you know and believe yourself to be, you do internalize that,” Walsh said in an interview with Insider.

“That manifests on the other end as hatred toward self and the inability to develop a positive sense of self or self-esteem. It causes constant fear of being discriminated against or hyper vigilance.”

Additionally, it can cause or exacerbate mental health difficulties like depression and anxiety, Walsh said.

“Trans and gender non-conforming folks are at least six times more likely than the general population to have suicide thoughts and ideation,” she said.

It becomes even more concerning, Walsh said, when dealing with kids, because kids often derive their sense of belonging from schools and from their peers.

“To feel like you have the weight of letting your entire team down because of who you are is immense at that age,” she said.