Lake Oswego track and field and cross country coach John Parks was dismissed from his position recently, citing a letter he sent to state officials regarding a change in policy related to transgender athletes back in May.
Parks, who led the Lakers to two straight state championships on the girls side in 2023 and 2024, wrote two separate letters: one addressed to Peter Weber, the executive director of the Oregon Scholastic Athletic Association, and one addressed to state Sen. Rob Wagner.
The current OSAA's rule can be found under Policy 38, Section B(3) and it allows for a student-athlete to compete in the gender with which they identify as after reporting it to their school.
“... once a nonbinary or intersex student has notified the student’s school of their gender identity, the student shall be treated as either gender for purposes of eligibility for athletics and activities that are gender-segregated or gender-specific,” the OSAA policy states.
“The OSAA competition rules need to be aligned with what the rest of the world competes under," Parks wrote to Wagner, referencing hormone testing requirements enforced by the International Olympic Committee and similar organizations. "My proposal to encourage transgender participation is to offer an open division that is so named so it doesn't identify or discriminate but offers an opportunity to participate."
Parks’ dismissal came shortly after a transgender girl athlete finished first in the 200-meter final and second in the 400 at the 2024 OSAA State Championships.
In the letter to Weber, which was sent prior to the state championship meet, Parks noted that the transgender athlete was among the state’s leaders in both the 200 and the 400.
“Many coaches observing have felt the McDaniel athlete has been holding back,” Parks wrote, "fearing that running too fast will bring a reversal in the rule.”
As a result, Parks believes the current conditions for competition are unfair and dishonest.
In the letter, Parks notes that the transgender athlete is likely to challenge multiple state records if her current trajectory as a rising junior holds.
“The damage to all the natural born female competitors is real and devastating,” Parks wrote. “The OSAA already has state meet events for para athletes in wheelchair and Unified competition. The solution to trans athletes is to have an open category like a gender neutral bathroom.”
After Parks’ letter was written to Weber, but before the state championship meet, Portland Public Schools Athletic Director Marshall Haskins contacted Lake Oswego School District with concerns regarding the Lakers’ head coach, according to a report by The Oregonian.
Haskins claimed that Parks contacted other coaches and parents around the state, asking them to reach out to the OSAA in a similar fashion.
Haskins’ letter also claims that Parks was contacting families and student-athletes before the state meet “forcing them to participate in his personal agenda.” Haskins said that Parks was “riling up” tournament spectators who booed and jeered at the state meet as the transgender athlete competed and received her medals.
In a follow-up message sent to the Lake Oswego Review, Parks denied these claims, stating that the Lake Oswego School District found Haskin’s letter to be erroneous.
Still, Parks was ultimately terminated from his position before reaching out to local media outlets this week.
Mary Kay Larson, Lake Oswego School District’s executive director of communications, sent a statement into Lake Oswego Review on Wednesday morning.
“School districts are unable to discuss personnel matters publicly due to privacy regulations. While this policy can place us in a challenging position, it is essential to protect all involved parties,” Larson wrote. “We can share that coaches are employed on one-year contracts at the discretion of the school administration. The school district adheres to state law and school board policy in all employment matters. John Parks has had four contracts with LOSD over the past two years. He is not currently employed with LOSD.”
-Mac Larsen contributed to this report.
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