Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,
A transgender-identifying athlete won two girls’ events at the California high school championship on May 31, despite President Donald Trump threatening to rescind federal funding over the state’s failure to abide by his order banning male athletes from competing in girls’ sports.
A.B. Hernandez, a male high school student in Southern California who identifies as transgender, won the high jump and triple jump and placed second in the long jump at the California high school track and field championship, competing in the girls’ division.
The event took place after the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which governs the state’s high school sports, changed its rules on May 28. Under the new rule, a “biological female student-athlete” who would have earned a particular placement in track events would still receive the placement and medal she qualified for.
Following the rule changes, Hernandez shared first place in the high jump with co-winners Jillene Wetteland and Lelani Laruelle, and in the triple jump with Kira Gant Hatcher, who trailed by just more than a half-meter.
“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,” the organization said in a May 28 statement.
The statement came after Trump warned California on May 27 that “large scale” federal funding would be withheld, “maybe permanently,” if the state does not comply with his Feb. 5 executive order that banned male students who identify as female from competing in girls’ sports.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom for allowing a male athlete to compete against female athletes at an event.
He stated that the male athlete “won everything” and advanced to the state finals. Trump did not name the athlete, but it was widely presumed to be Hernandez.
“As a Male, he was a less than average competitor. As a Female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable,” Trump stated. “THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has also launched a civil rights investigation into California’s law that has allowed males to compete in girls’ sports.
The DOJ announced on May 28 that its investigation aims to determine whether California, along with its senior legal, educational, and athletic organizations, was “engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on sex.”
At the heart of the probe is AB 1266, a 2014 California law that permits students to participate in school sports in accordance with their gender identity and not their sex.
The DOJ contends this policy may unlawfully allow males to displace females from team rosters, scholarships, and podium finishes—outcomes that DOJ officials argue run afoul of Title IX, the landmark federal civil rights law.