Last July, I wrote a piece about Utah State Board of Education member Natalie Cline. Cline was taking fire for voicing her opposition to the LGBTQ, DEI, and CRT curricula being taught in the nation’s schools, including in the Beehive State.
Cline characterized herself as being unfairly attacked as being homophobic, transphobic, and racist by various advocacy groups. She had also run afoul of the other members of the state board.
I took an interest in the matter not just because it was a local issue but the fact is that students have been indoctrinated in schools across the nation with left-wing agendas. And given the events in Loudoun County and elsewhere, parents, teachers, and others who take issue with those agendas face no end of opposition, some of which has been brutal and even illegal.
The original story, which includes a statement from the state school board, can be found here. Readers will note that I mentioned the piece was a developing story. And I never followed up on it. There is a reason for that.
Before I wrote that piece, I reached out to Cline and spent a great deal of time with her and a friend on the phone. I took copious and detailed notes. Cline claimed that lawyers were getting involved and asked if I could send her a copy before I published it here. I complied. Her reply said that I got too many things wrong in the piece and that she would get back to me.
I spent 20 years as a reporter, and I trust in my ability to take notes. But I took what I could verify and wrote it up. When Cline finally did get back, she sent me a statement. The first paragraph had been lifted word-for-word from my original “inaccurate” article. Cline’s camp didn’t give me any credit, and I can live with that. But they didn’t even bother to so much as ask if they could use my work.
I don’t have the original emails because I decided to write the incident off as time wasted. But I remember standing in our kitchen and reading the statement to my wife. I looked at her and said, “That’s it. I’m done with these people.” Cline and I may have some things in common, but I want to deal with honest brokers.
Cline is back in hot water, and this time, the Lt. Gov. of Utah, Deidre Henderson, is calling for an investigation and Cline’s resignation. At issue is a social media post. KUTV reports that Cline’s post on Facebook showed a girl’s high school basketball team with the caption “girl’s basketball.” This seems like a pretty innocuous statement. The group Equality Utah did not think so and posted a lengthy statement on X, which read in part:
Today, Utah State Board of Education member, Natalie Cline posted a mocking statement on Facebook targeting a female high school student. Cline’s post inferred that the teenager might be transgender. The student is not. Cline’s post generated a stream of cruel and vicious comments from adults targeted toward this teenager. Natalie Cline has a history of posting inflammatory opinions, however, this is a new level of depravity and bullying. Cline’s post perpetuates a modern-day witch-hunt, where hysterical adults police the bodies of children to determine if they are masculine or feminine enough. Two weeks ago, the Salt Lake Tribune reported a similar incident, where a parent stopped a high school girls’ basketball game and demanded to know if a particular player was transgender. She was not. These actions are callous and cruel. [sic]
The TV station reports that Cline took the post down and apologized for the negative attention it brought to students and their families. She has also allegedly claimed that parents were concerned about the girl’s appearance and that she investigated the claim that the girl might be a boy. KUTV also states that prior to the incendiary post, Cline had an entry on Facebook that lambasted the idea that the state is entitled to children’s personal data. Cline’s response can be found in the link above.
Henderson commented, “I was really shocked, not just that an elected official would say those things but that other people, other adults would just pile on the way they did. It was heartbreaking,” before calling for Cline’s resignation. Gov. Spencer Cox also weighed in:
Gov. Spencer Cox, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson denounce behavior of Utah School Board Member Natalie Cline. Read the full statement here ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/XLZbfT4450
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) February 8, 2024
The Utah Democratic Party was also quick to call Cline out.
It is not known if Cline queried the student’s parents or if they gave consent to her research. That research reportedly consisted of Cline speaking to third parties.
In case you have missed the news over the past few years, the country is in dire straits, and the threats are real. And it can be tempting to raise our broadswords above our heads, shout “LEEROY JENKINS!” and crash into the fray.
One can be so caught up in the cause that common sense gets tossed out of the window. Cline may have felt justified, but she made some poor kid and her family miserable and embarrassed herself. And she didn’t do the conservative movement any favors, either.
Whatever her motives may have been, Cline’s actions were thoughtless, cruel, clumsy, and arrogant. Instead of doing something positive in the fight against sexualization and indoctrination, she may have aided and abetted both problems. And again, no high school student needs that kind of attention.
The next seven months or so are going to get rough. Passion is good, and drive is good. Wisdom will be mandatory.