The frustrated parents of female athletes at Dakota Ridge High School are speaking out over an escalating locker room dispute, demanding answers after district officials placed a transgender player on the girls' junior varsity volleyball roster.
asserted
officials → speak → roster
Four Dakota Ridge parents spoke with OutKick this week as tension in the gym turned into open opposition.
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tension → speak → opposition
Following the public outcry sparked by parents like Tanna Donalson, whose daughter and seven other juniors were cut from the volleyball program, outspoken fathers are now stepping forward alongside mothers to challenge state policies that elevate gender identity over female athletics.
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that → follow → athletics
Families are pressing Jefferson County Public Schools (Jeffco) for accountability, refusing to back down despite reported retaliation from school and district staff against those who question the policy.
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who → press → policy
The conflict centers on district leadership invoking state non-discrimination guidelines to open female locker rooms to the player, even as coaching staff cut more than 35 female athletes from the program, as OutKick previously reported.
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OutKick → center → program
OutKick observed the fallout firsthand during matches against Standley Lake on Monday and Littleton on Wednesday.
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OutKick → observe → Wednesday
Colorado parents challenge Jeffco's leadership
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parents → challenge → leadership
Jefferson County Public Schools, Colorado's second-largest school district, has offered only one formal remedy for female athletes who object to sharing facilities: directing them to seek private changing spaces elsewhere in the building.
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who → offer → building
What’s happening at Dakota Ridge is a slow burn to that sacred space," said Josh, a Dakota Ridge father in attendance at Wednesday's match who went on the record regarding the ongoing issue.
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who → happen → issue
"The Jeffco School Interim Superintendent said that they need to respect the privacy of all students.
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they → say → students
I guess 'all students' aren’t the 50-plus girls on the volleyball teams that use the girls' locker room.
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that → guess → room
Dakota Ridge said they will make accommodations for girls who are uncomfortable in the locker room.
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who → say → room
Internal emails obtained by OutKick show district leadership anticipated the dispute, quietly preparing weeks in advance while leaving parents and players blindsided when the athlete was placed on the roster without warning.
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athlete → obtain → warning
In an Oct. 6 email to district leadership, Dakota Ridge Athletic Director Jeff Legault warned: "I heard that meetings were held weeks ago to discuss a plan for this scenario, which is unfolding exactly the way it was predicted."
With the JV season ending, parent concerns deepened after coaching staff threatened to bench players overheard discussing the freshman athlete.
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staff → warn → athlete
"DR staff and the district knew about this issue and kept it a secret.
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staff → know → it
It’s still the elephant in the room," Josh said, noting that a former coach whose daughters played for Dakota Ridge subsequently stepped away from the program.
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daughters → ’ → program
Josh estimated varsity parents are fractured into three camps: "25% don’t care or somehow think this is a fight against Trump, 50% just want this to go away, and 25% are fighting."
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% → estimate → Trump
Coach Zeman confronted over retaliation threats
Beyond locker room access, parents report a pervasive fear of retaliation.
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parents → confront → retaliation
Matters escalated when head coach Matthew Zeman allegedly threatened two players with benching after they were overheard discussing the situation in a school parking lot.
uncertain
they → escalate → lot
Carey, the mother of one of the varsity athletes, sent a statement to OutKick, confirming details of the confrontation.
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Carey → send → confrontation
"A few weeks ago, my daughter and one of her teammates were told they couldn’t play in a volleyball game, nor could they attend the game after having a private conversation in the parking lot with a few other volleyball teammates about a transgender player they had heard of on the JV team," Carey said.
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Carey → tell → team
"After the other parent and I met with the coach and the athletic director, they reversed this, and they allowed them to play in the game, even though they didn’t even have any idea what the girls had said."
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girls → meet → what
Carey said that the threat followed her daughter's earlier concerns regarding locker room arrangements.
"
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threat → say → arrangements
My daughter had also expressed concern about being uncomfortable in the locker room with this player.
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daughter → express → player
She was told that they could make accommodations for her, not the other player," Carey said.
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Carey → tell → her
Feeling safe and comfortable in a locker room is critical.
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Feeling → feel → room
Not only that, there’s fairness in female sports, and there’s the ability to speak up and talk about your concerns without feeling punished."
Carey, a Dakota Ridge mother who has worked with disabled individuals for over 30 years, emphasized that her concerns stem from basic fairness.
"
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concerns → ’ → fairness
I know all about inclusion, respect, fairness, and making things work.
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things → know → inclusion
This situation has become out of hand, and I feel like we have to start asking better questions.
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we → become → questions
We have to start coming up with better solutions while respecting everybody involved," Carey added.
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Carey → have → everybody
"This isn’t about disrespecting anyone.
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This → disrespect → anyone
This is about making it fair for everybody involved: primarily, safety in a girls’ locker room, fairness in sports, and making sure our girls are able to speak up and feel respected."
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girls → make → sports
Josh backed up that account, noting that Zeman accused the players of "bullying" simply for talking amongst themselves, yet failed to cite a single broken rule.
"When the couple of girls were talking about it in the parking lot, the coach found out about that and immediately pulled two of the girls out and was gonna bench them because they were talking, [calling it] bullying," Josh said.
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Josh → back → it
"And they asked, 'What did we do wrong?'
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we → ask → What
And he couldn't name anything.
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he → name → anything
And I feel like they were actually bullied by the coach for that.
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they → feel → that
They're just talking amongst friends, as kids do in a parking lot with their varsity teammates."
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kids → talk → teammates
Both Zeman and Jeffco Public Schools ignored repeated requests for comment.
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Zeman → ignore → comment
Approached directly inside the gym on Wednesday, Zeman refused to comment on the parents' frustrations.
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Zeman → approach → frustrations
Following a road match at Standley Lake on Monday, the team returned home Wednesday to face Littleton under heightened security, including an armed guard inside the gym.
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team → follow → gym
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
