Male-born A.B. Hernandez, who won two California girls’ track titles in May, is now competing in girls’ high school volleyball — but not all female athletes are willing to play that game.
As many as five schools have boycotted girls’ varsity volleyball games against Jurupa Valley High School, where Hernandez is a senior, since the start of the 2025 fall season, setting up another Golden State clash over fairness versus inclusion in female sports.
The Riverside Unified School District Board of Education heard speakers on both sides of the issue after Riverside Poly High School forfeited its Aug. 15 game against Jurupa Valley.
“It’s common sense: A male boy with male genitalia should not be allowed to compete against biological girls at a sport where he would have a drastic advantage, volleyball,” said Jose Carillo, a local parent who wore a “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirt, during public comment at the Thursday meeting.
“He already took a bunch of girls’ [California Interscholastic Federation] championships this year in track and field. Everybody knows this,” he said. “And now this same boy wants to come to our district again and now take our girls’ volleyball championships, put stains on their records.”
Nereyda Hernandez, the athlete’s mother, swung back by citing California law banning discrimination based on gender identity, which includes school sports.
“This has nothing to do with fairness in sports and everything to do with erasing transgender children,” she said. “My daughter’s a student, an athlete and a girl, and she deserves the same protections and dignity as every other child.”
The situation has drawn the attention of President Trump, who said last week on Truth Social: “Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our Transgender policies will not be funded. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The Jurupa Unified School District said the matter is out of its hands, citing earlier guidance from California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and Attorney General Rob Bonta.
“As a public school district in California, JUSD is compelled to follow the law, which protects students from discrimination based on gender identity and requires that students be permitted to participate on athletic teams that are consistent with their gender identity (California Education Code 221.5(f)),” said the district statement.
The district said it would seek to schedule additional matches for the team to make up for the forfeits.
Maribel Munoz, whose daughter Alyssa McPherson plays on the Jurupa Valley team, said California Gov. Gavin Newsom needs to get involved. He said in March that the transgender-athlete phenomenon is “deeply unfair,” but has yet to take action.
“We know what California state law is, and we do respect that, and that’s why Gov. Newsom really needs to step in and also advocate for my daughter and the other girls in our program,” Ms. Munoz told Fox News Channel in a Monday interview.
Her daughter said that five schools have withdrawn from games against Jurupa Valley.
A.B. Hernandez won gold medals in the girls’ high jump and triple jump at the CIF girls’ track and field championships on May 31.
The federation rejected calls to remove the athlete from the female field, but did allow girls bumped by Hernandez to receive qualifying slots and podium spots.
In a statement, Riverside Poly didn’t mention the transgender athlete, but agreed to take a forfeit rather than compete against Jurupa Valley.
“We understand this is disappointing for our athletes, families and supporters, and we appreciate the community’s understanding,” said the high school on Instagram. “We remain committed to providing a safe, positive environment for all student-athletes throughout the season.”
A spokesperson for Orange Vista High School said the decision to withdraw from the Aug. 29 match was a “team decision.”
“After thoughtful discussions our student-athletes had with the coaching staff, it was decided to cancel our upcoming Girls’ Varsity volleyball match against Jurupa Valley High School,” said the statement provided to OutKick.
“This decision was made in conjunction with the athletic directors at both Orange Vista and Jurupa Valley,” the statement said. “Our priority is always the well-being of our students. We are proud of our athletes for bringing their thoughts forward and for supporting one another to make this a team decision.”
Ms. Munoz said she has contacted the district’s Title IX coordinator and that an investigation is underway.
“I’ve complained multiple times to the administration, and they just disregard our feelings and our positions,” she said. “I think they just focus more on one particular student versus the many.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.