California’s organization that governs high school sports has, at least temporarily, revised state policies to ensure that girls aren’t booted off podiums by transgender-identifying men.
The California Interscholastic Federation will now allow girls who would have been able to participate in this upcoming weekend’s track and field state championship, if a trans male had not stolen their spots, to compete. The organization will also score transgender-identifying students in a separate category from boys and girls.
“Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section’s automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships,” CIF said in a statement. “The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes.”
CIF’s rule change comes after a trans-identifying male, Junior AB Hernandez, qualified for the state championship’s triple jump and long jump events, displacing girls who would have qualified for the championship. Southern California parents have petitioned President Donald Trump to intervene in the matter, with many admonishing California’s blatant disregard for an executive order the president signed in February, which prohibits men from participating in women’s sports.
Trump brought attention to the girls eliminated from the state championship after Hernandez swept his female competition at the Southern Section Masters Meet last weekend. Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from California if the state did not comply with his executive order.
“This week a transitioned Male athlete, at a major event, won ‘everything,’ and is now qualified to compete in the ‘State Finals’ next weekend,” Trump said on Truth Social. “As a Male, he was a less than average competitor. As a Female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable. THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who admitted on a podcast earlier this year that allowing men to play women’s’ sports was “unfair,” supported CIF’s updated procedures.
“CIF’s proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness,” Izzy Gardon, a spokeswoman for Newsom, said. “The Governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach.”
CIF’s policy change appears only to affect the state track and field championship meet on May 30-31.
Although the modified rules are a welcome change, some activists said CIF’s revision didn’t go far enough.
“This is not an adequate response from CIF following Trump’s threat to pull funds from CA. Boys would still be competing against girls,” said political activist Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who was forced to compete against a transgender male during her collegiate career. “[CIF is] fully admitting girls are being pushed out of their sports by boys. They just think the boys’ feelings matter more.”