80-year-old Washington state woman banned from YMCA after demanding trans employee leave locker
A spokesperson for the YMCA said the permanent suspension was due to repeated violations of their code of conduct
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An 80-year-old Washington state woman was permanently banned from her local YMCA pool after demanding that a transgender employee leave the women’s locker room, she told local media.
"I saw a man in a woman’s bathing suit watching maybe four or five little girls pulling down their suits in order to use the toilet," Port Townsend resident Julie Jaman recalled of the July incident to Seattle radio show host Dori Monson on Friday. "I asked if he had a penis and he said it was none of my business. I told that man to ‘get out right now.’"
The incident occurred on July 26 at the Mountain View pool, which is a City of Port Townsend facility operated by the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, according to local news outlet Port Townsend Free Press.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jaman said that she was alerted to the trans employee being in the women’s locker room while she was showering and "heard a man’s voice."
JUDGE BLOCKS BIDEN ADMIN'S TRANSGENDER SCHOOL BATHROOM RULE, ATHLETES
Transgender rights activist waves a transgender flag at a rally in Washington Square Park in New York, U.S., May 24, 2019. REUTERS/Demetrius Freeman Swimmers are seen at Jean Bouin swimming pool in Nice June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard (REUTERS/Demetrius Freeman and REUTERS/Eric Gaillard)
She told Monson that she alerted a pool staffer to the incident and was stunned when the staff member told her she was "being discriminatory," and "was banned from the pool forever." The staffer also allegedly said the police would be called, according to Jaman’s radio interview.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"She didn’t ask me what the problem was, if I was okay, nothing about me," Jaman told Monson. "It’s as if she was just waiting to pounce on me. It was just stunning."
The Port Townsend Police Department told Fox News Digital that no official police report was filed, but the department provided an incident report on the matter.
The incident report details that Jaman "had an emotional response to a strange male being in the bathroom" near young girls, and is hoping to not be "trespassed" from the pool, according to a phone call an officer had with Jaman. The report also noted a phone call from the YMCA detailing that Jaman was reportedly in the facility’s locker room "screaming" at an employee and "refusing to leave."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Locker Room in a gym (iStock) (iStock)
Erin Hawkins, the marketing & communications manager for the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, told Fox News Digital that the permanent pool ban followed a build-up of incidents where Jaman violated the facility’s code of conduct. She said the permanent suspension was not solely due to the singular incident in the women's locker room last month.
"Julie Jaman was permanently suspended from the Mountain View Pool due to her repeatedly violating our Code of Conduct, specifically, using disrespectful words or gestures toward YMCA staff or others; abusive, harassing and/or obscene language or gestures toward YMCA staff or others," Hawkins said in comment to Fox News Digital on Monday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jaman told Monson that she was suspended from the facility despite having "a great relationship with swimmers in the pool."
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 24: L.G.B.T. activists and their supporters rally in support of transgender people on the steps of New York City Hall. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Jaman told local media that she had been a member of the pool facility for 35 years and has lived in Port Townsend for about 40 years. She has voted for Democrats during her life, she told the local outlet, and considers herself an "XX woman," referring to her chromosomes.
She added to the Port Townsend Free Press that she recoiled at being naked and showering in a room with a person born male. She added that the "momma bear in me" came out when she saw the individual near the young girls in the bathroom.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE SAYS HER PARTY 'CANCELED' HER OVER VIEW ON TRANSGENDER ISSUES
Jaman added that she also spoke with the CEO of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, Wendy Bart, and said that she told Bart there should be warnings that the bathrooms were also used by trans individuals.
"I told her there were no signs posted to give women warning," Jaman told Monson. "She said there were Pride posters posted all over and she assumed that was adequate to inform women what to expect." Bart also said, "‘we take pride and everyone is welcome,’" according to Jaman’s description of the conversation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"That’s fine with me, except that they do not provide alternatives for women who choose not to be undressing in front of men," Jaman continued in the radio interview. "Our pool is a very old pool. We just have two shower rooms, dressing rooms, one for men, one for women."
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Jaman has since held a protest outside the pool facility and was joined by supporters, the Port Townsend Free Press reported. Trans activists also ran a counter-protest.