Estimated read time: 9-10 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Fallout over a controversial social media post by State School Board member Natalie Cline continues to grow Thursday as bipartisan legislative leaders strongly denounced the post and said they're considering impeachment.
A top LGBTQ advocate also warned there will likely be more scrutiny of Utah's transgender community in light of the post and following the Legislature's passage of a contentious transgender bathroom bill last month.
Utah State Board of Education member Natalie Cline drew wide rebuke Wednesday for a social media post about a high school student-athlete that appeared to imply the teenager might be transgender. The post — which has since been taken down — received a slew of transphobic and bullying comments directed at the girl, whose parents told KSL she is not transgender.
The State School Board met at the Capitol Thursday afternoon as it does regularly during the legislative session. Cline did not attend in person nor did she participate electronically, the Deseret News reported. The board stuck to its posted agenda, which was largely about funding and policy issues under consideration by the Utah Legislature.
Other than issuing a statement, the board took no further action nor did it discuss the matter during the meeting. Board Chairman James Moss declined to comment on whether Cline had resigned, if the board had asked her to resign or if the board was scheduling a future meeting to discuss the issues.
Lawmakers consider impeaching Cline
During a daily meeting with reporters Thursday, top Senate leaders from both parties presented a united front in denouncing the post. Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said he considered issuing a statement earlier, but wanted to speak to reporters alongside Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City.
"I think we're united in this — we condemn the actions," Adams said. "What (Cline) did was reprehensible and we condemn it very strongly."
"No one should put anybody else's kids' pictures on Facebook, no matter what the issue," he added, using the incident as an example of the harm that can be caused online. "You see what happens to families, what happens to individuals."
Escamilla said, "I think we all agree how it was just shocking."
While Adams and others said it would be up to Cline, they expressed desire that she resign from her elected position, but said they were looking into oversight options including an ethics inquiry and possible impeachment. House and Senate Democrats met with legal counsel during closed caucus meetings during lunch on Thursday to get advice on how to proceed.
Adams said Republicans don't have any immediate plans to move forward with anything, but said they're trying to figure out the process.
"I was appalled at what happened there," said Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City. "I would prefer that she step down."
"I just find it wildly inappropriate that an adult would be posting about somebody else's kid under any circumstances," added Senate Majority Assistant Whip Kirk Cullimore, R-Draper.
Adams said he expects any impeachment inquiry to "take us a while," and said lawmakers want to "be sensitive" to the student who was highlighted in the post.
After deleting her initial post, Cline posted on Facebook offering her "deepest apologies for the negative attention my post drew to innocent students and their families." She said she "never claimed the student was a boy" and said it's "normal to pause and wonder if people are what they say they are because of the push to normalize transgenderism in our society."
'Cyberbullying at its finest'
The parents of the 16-year-old student-athlete who was featured in the post have also called on Cline to resign and accused the school board member of insinuating their daughter is a boy.
"To look at someone's outer appearance and make an assumption that they're either playing in the right arena or not, based on how someone looks, I don't think is appropriate," said Rachel van der Beek, the girl's mother. KSL is not using the name of the school or the student to protect her privacy.
Al van der Beek called the comments underneath Cline's post disgusting and "cyberbullying at its finest. The couple describes their daughter as a tomboy.
"She cut her hair short because that's how she feels comfortable, she wears clothes that are a little baggy, she goes to the gym all the time so she's got muscles," Al van der Beek said.
Rachel van der Beek said they waited to tell their daughter about the widely circulated post after school Wednesday.
"It just broke our hearts that we needed to have this conversation with our daughter," she said.
LGBTQ advocates respond
Equality Utah, the state's largest LGBTQ rights organization, called the post a "new level of depravity and bullying," and Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said the post "embarrassed the state."
Troy Williams, executive director at Equality Utah, implored state leaders to "stop the panic" over transgender individuals in a social media post Thursday.
"To Utah leaders: now that Cline has everyone's attention, plz pause and see that this is prologue," Williams said on X, formerly Twitter. "There will be more scrutinizing and false accusations of teen athlete bodies. There will now also be policing of bodies in bathrooms. This moral panic will only continue."
🧵To Utah leaders: now that Cline has everyone's attention, plz pause and see that this is prologue. There will be more scrutinizing and false accusations of teen athlete bodies. There will now also be policing of bodies in bathrooms. This moral panic will only continue.
— Troy Williams (@TroyWilliamsUT) February 8, 2024
Utah House Democrats on Thursday called on Cline to step down, issuing a statement denouncing her "unconscionable online accusations" they say have "repeatedly endangered the safety of students and educators, warranting consequences beyond reprimand."
"Apologies are insufficient," the statement continued. "Cline's repeated misconduct highlights her unsuitability for the role of Utah school board member, necessitating her immediate resignation to prevent further harm to our students. We acknowledge that legislation discriminating against transgender individuals only worsens this harmful behavior. If the Utah Legislature continues to pass laws singling out our trans community members, these incidents may well continue."
Utah Senate Democrats also called for Cline's resignation for her "reprehensible actions."
Lawmakers have passed a series of transgender bills in recent years, barring transgender girls from competing in high school sports and prohibiting gender-related surgeries for minors. Just last month, a bill restricting bathroom access for transgendered individuals passed the Legislature and was signed by Cox.
Critics of the transgender athlete ban and the bathroom bill have said the policies not only place a target on an already marginalized population, but they open everyone up to potential scrutiny if someone feels they don't appear masculine or feminine enough for a certain team or restroom.
"(Cline) inferred that a girl was transgender and you saw the hate cast at that girl who is actually cisgender," tweeted Sue Robbins, a transgender woman and adviser to Equality Utah, using a term to describe an individual whose gender identity matches their sex at birth. "So what do you think actual transgender youth are going through?"
Williams spoke of "unintended consequences" that result when "we rush through policies to appease fearmongers like Cline," in a continued thread on X. "We scapegoat people to temporarily satisfy irrational fears. Sadly, the transgender community has become an easy scapegoat to project people's fears upon."
"I don't understand what it's like to be trans, and feel my gender is out of sync with my body," Williams continued. "But I do know what it's like to love my trans friends. I want them all to live safe, happy and healthy. I want them to enjoy equal protection too. Can we stop the panic and reset now?"
Lawmakers on transgender issues
Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, and Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton — the lawmakers behind this year's bathroom bill and the athlete ban from 2022 — have previously said they were not trying to target the transgender community with their bills.
Birkeland has described the bathroom bill as an effort to improve privacy and security for women and girls in restrooms after hearing from concerned constituents. McCay — a father of four daughters — has said the same.
In a statement to KSL.com Thursday, Birkeland described Cline's post as "awful and unjustifiable."
"A child should never be targeted by adults, let alone an elected official," Birkeland said. "Utah has a process in place to protect our student athletes from this type of targeted harassment. If a student is on the court, field, or track — no adult, elected official, parent, or athlete should question that student's eligibility. Treating a child in this way is unacceptable and should never happen. Lastly, Cline should resign."
When asked why the bill includes narrow definitions of "male" and "female" that exclude transgender individuals, rather than simply criminalizing inappropriate behavior in restrooms, McCay told KSL.com: "I think the most important part for all of this is trying to look at the greater population, everybody here, and trying to come up with a policy that matches everyone's interest."
"I have spoken with many women who do not want to be confronted with men who look like men, or men who look like women but are men, in their bathroom," he added.
Henderson on Wednesday shared a social media post promoting Amanda Bollinger — who is running against Cline for State School Board — saying she just donated to Bollinger's campaign.
"She's amazing and could use everyone's help," Henderson said.
Cox responded to another post saying he had donated to Bollinger, as did Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, the governor's brother-in-law.
Will Shiflett, another candidate for Cline's school board seat, issued a statement condemning Cline's actions, calling the post "yet another in her embarrassingly long history of divisive language and blatant harassment of innocent individuals."
"It is unconscionable that Ms. Cline chose to direct any of her energy against a high school student simply because that individual looked differently to her," Shifflett said. "It is unacceptable for us to allow Ms. Cline to remain in a position where she may continue to harm our children, waste limited education resources and cause unnecessary divisions within our community."
The leadership of the Utah State Board of Education issued a statement Thursday condemning Cline's post, noting that the board has no power to unseat an elected official.
"Board leadership is very concerned about this post and the harm it has caused to students and families in Utah," the statement reads. "We are deeply saddened by the events that have taken place and will be taking prompt action regarding this matter as determined by the full board. ... If the full board determines discipline is warranted, board bylaws provide guidelines for additional action."
Williams concluded his X thread, saying: "The challenge of American pluralism is always how diverse people co-exist."
"Our country has a history of doing this well, and also, doing it tragically," he continued. "We always have a choice. Utah, we are now at an inflection point. Will we choose moral panic or co-existence? Fear or love?"
Contributing: Shelby Lofton
