Rising Tensions in California High School Sports Over Trans Athlete

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A girls’ high school volleyball team in California lost two more games that were scratched from its schedule after opposing schools forfeited, as the controversy over a transgender athlete on the team deepens.

Maribel Munoz, a mother of one of the Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball players, told Fox News Digital the news after team coach Liana Manu sent a message to parents informing them about the upcoming forfeits. The affected matches include those against Rim of the World High School, Aug. 25, and Orange Vista High School, Aug. 29.

In a statement to Fox News Digital about the development, Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD) distanced itself from the decisions to forfeit. “We understand and acknowledge the disappointment of our Jurupa Valley High School athletes who are ready and prepared to play,” the statement read. “Decisions to cancel matches were made by teams in other districts, not us.”

The district also noted it is bound by state law that prohibits discrimination against students for their gender identity. Education Code 221.5 (f) requires school districts to allow students to “participate on athletic teams that are consistent with the student’s gender identity.” The guidance from California Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, JUSD officials noted.

“We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride,” the district added, with new matches currently being scheduled to ensure the athletes do not miss out on playing time.

The forfeits are the latest in a series after Riverside Poly High School forfeited a scheduled Aug. 15 game with Jurupa Valley. Parents of athletes and a local school board member told Fox News Digital the school’s decision to pull out of the match was in direct response to the team’s transgender player, senior AB Hernandez.

Trans Athlete’s Mother Speaks Out as Community Conflict Escalates

Nereyda Hernandez, Hernandez’s mother, released a statement of her own on Monday amid the backlash. “I understand the discomfort some may feel, because I was once there, too. The difference is, I chose to learn, to grow, and to open my heart,” she wrote.

“The reality is this, my daughter is tiny,” she continued. “This is not what makes her different, or superior, or special. What makes her different is not her size, or lack of it, or strength, or athleticism, it’s her skill.”

“This is a child, and I can assure you that she sees your daughters as peers, as teammates, as friends, not through a lens of anything inappropriate,” Hernandez added. “She did not even know the other teams forfeited because of her.”

The 18-year-old Hernandez is no stranger to controversy. During the spring track and field season, she won two California state titles, one in the long jump and one in the triple jump. The victories prompted other female athletes and their families to protest in “Save Girls’ Sports” shirts. The controversy garnered attention from former President Donald Trump, who posted a message on Truth Social ahead of the state finals, calling on California not to allow a transgender athlete to compete, though he did not name Hernandez.

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over its policy to allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports, despite Trump having signed an executive order in February that sought to bar such participation.

Hernandez is in her senior year, so the volleyball season would be her last opportunity to play the sport at the high school level. Instead of the competition itself, the season has so far been defined by forfeits and deepening community tensions.

Munoz, whose daughter has played with Hernandez on the team for the past three years, laments the state of affairs and its development. “It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” Munoz said.

The local school board meetings have become a venue for that tension to play out. At a Riverside Unified School District meeting last week, parents came out to either support the Riverside Poly athletes for their decision not to play or in defense of the rights of transgender students to compete.

The meeting was where Nereyda Hernandez had some words for Riverside board member Amanda Vickers, who previously spoke to Fox News Digital about the forfeit. “You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child,” she said. “You are a board member. You have an oath to protect, to support all children, not just the ones that fit your ideas, your beliefs.”

“It’s nothing about fairness in sports,” she added. “You just support organizations that are organized organizations that are targeting parents to make you feel very fearful, that are putting us against each other.”

She further claimed the religiously justified outrage had little to do with the transgender community. “This has nothing to do with fairness in sports and everything to do with erasing transgender children,” Hernandez added.

Parents such as Maria Carrillo had a different view. The mother of two girls at Riverside Poly criticized parents who support the transgender player for not properly parenting their own children. “Poly girls, we stand with you,” Carrillo said. “Keep fighting, because these parents who support their confused child are the problem.”

Jurupa Valley’s regular season is expected to last through mid-October. With more forfeits looming and no sign of a cooling down, the volleyball athletes find themselves caught between a local desire to play and a national battle over transgender athletes.

That battle has gotten renewed attention from Trump as well, who last week doubled down on his attacks on California’s policies. In a Truth Social post on Monday, the former president warned Newsom and other California school districts that they risked losing federal funding if they did not comply with his administration’s transgender guidelines.