Rose Johnson (red) waiting to do the opening tip-off against Proctor on February 7, 2023. Screenshot from the Proctor High School YouTube account.
A high school girls’ basketball team in Vermont that has received some strong contributions from a male player is 17-1 this season.
Rose Johnson, a 6-foot-1 senior on the Long Trail School girls’ basketball team, is the male player helping the team succeed.
Johnson, who identifies as transgender, has been a steady contributor to the team over the past two seasons, according to coverage of the team.
Here are some highlights of Johnson’s performances reported by two Vermont newspapers — The Rutland Herald and The Manchester Journal over the past two seasons:
Eight points in the team’s 51-28 win over Springfield on February 7, 2024
Eight points in a 39-25 win over Poultney on February 14, 2023
Six blocked shots and six points in a 47-43 win against Proctor on February 7, 2023
Seven blocked shots and eight points in a 43-16 win over Mill River on January 31, 2023
Eight points in a 40-31 win against Poultney on January 27, 2023
A NewBostonPost reporter also watched video of a game Johnson played against Poultney on January 12, 2024, in which Long Trail won 55-20. Johnson had eight points, five rebounds, four steals, and three blocks in the blowout win. Long Trail subbed Johnson out late in the third quarter of the lopsided contest, and the center did not play for the remainder of the game.
Long Trail School head coach Courtney Stasny praised Johnson’s defensive ability in an interview with The Manchester Journal last season.
“Rose brings such a great energy to the floor,” Stasny told the publication in an interview January 31, 2023. “We nicknamed her Rose ‘not in my house’ Johnson because she just does not let anything come through the lane.”
“Not in my house” is a phrase that was popularized by a Geico commercial featuring former NBA center Dikembe Mutombo, a 7-foot-2 center, blocking people’s shots in a wastepaper basket, a laundry bin, a toll booth coin collector, and a shopping carriage.
Johnson reportedly was involved in a collision that hurt a Leland & Gray player in a December 14, 2023 matchup.
“The Rebels Samantha Morse, who scored eight points in the first half, was not available to play the second after a collision with Long Trail’s Rose Johnson at the end of the second quarter,” a game recap from The Manchester Journal reported at the time.
Long Trail beat Leland & Gray 30-28, according to that same recap.
The school and player were the subject of controversy last year when Vermont Mid Christian School refused to play Long Trail last season because Johnson was on the team; the game went down as a forfeit for Vermont Mid Christian School and the school was banned indefinitely from participating in Vermont Principals’ Association athletic events. The player’s name was not widely reported at the time, though a Vermont Daily Chronicle column mentioned it. A source with knowledge of the situation also confirmed to NewBostonPost last week that Johnson was the male player in question.
Johnson was also on the school’s girls’ varsity soccer team last fall; the team went 8-7 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
Vermont allows student-athletes to participate in school sports based on their preferred gender identity, rather than their assigned sex.
“Transgender and gender nonconforming students are to be provided the same opportunities to participate in physical education as are all other students,” states a document from Vermont Agency of Education called “Continuing Best Practices for Schools Regarding Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students.” “Generally, students should be permitted to participate in physical education and sports in accordance with the student’s gender identity. Participation in competitive athletic activities and sports will be resolved on a case-by-case basis.”
Long Trail School is a private day school in Dorset, Vermont that serves 199 students between Grades 6 and 12. Dorset is in southwestern Vermont, located a few miles east of upstate New York; it has a little more than 2,000 inhabitants.
Long Trail School athletic director Stephanie Moberg could not be reached for comment on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday; nor could Stasny.
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Rose Johnson (red) waiting to do the opening tip-off against Proctor on February 7, 2023. Screenshot from the Proctor High School YouTube account. 
