Teen Girl Faces Harassment After Utah Official Falsely Suggests She's Transgender

A Utah official is facing calls to resign after she falsely insinuated that a 16-year-old basketball player was transgender, leading to online harassment of the teen and police protection.

Earlier this week, Utah State Board of Education member Natalie Cline made a Facebook post featuring a flyer for a high school basketball game and showing members of a girls team.

“Girls’ basketball...” she wrote as the caption, apparently suggesting that the 16-year-old seen in the post was actually a boy.

Comments soon flooded the post, with users verbally attacking the teen and discussing her personal information.

“All of the girls on both teams should boycott the games until he is removed from playing,” one Facebook comment read, referring to the girl.

“My neighbors don’t tolerate this crap and I know they’d bring it up at the game,” another person said.

“Start calling the principal and shaming them,” a third comment read.

The girl’s father told KSL-TV that Cline’s Facebook post led to a wave of hate against his daughter.

“Here’s a person that is supposed to be in a position of leadership that advocates for our children’s safety… and she’s the one who has instigated this post that has led to all this hate,” he told the NBC affiliate.

The torrent of harassment led to the girl needing police protection, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The Granite School District, which includes the girls basketball team, released a statement saying that it was “taking additional precautions for the safety and security of the school” following the post.

Cline removed the Facebook post and released a statement Wednesday apologizing to the girl and her family, while still defending her actions and placing blame on the transgender community.

“For those