California track-and-field championships draw limited protest over trans student's participation
CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) — California's high school track-and-field state finals will award one extra medal Saturday in events where a transgender athlete places in the top three, a rule change that may be the first of its kind nationally by a high school sports governing body.
The new California Interscholastic Federation policy was written in response to the success of high school junior AB Hernandez, a trans student who competes in the girls high jump, long jump and triple jump. She led in all three events after preliminaries Friday. The CIF said earlier this week it would let an additional student compete and medal in the events where Hernandez qualified.
The two-day championship kicked off in the sweltering heat at high school near Fresno. The atmosphere was relatively quiet Friday despite critics — including parents, conservative activists and President Donald Trump — calling for Hernandez to be barred from girls competition leading up to the meet.
There was some pushback Friday. A group of fewer than 10 people gathered outside the stadium ahead of the meet to protest Hernandez's participation. Some of them wore 'Save Girls' Sports' T-shirts. At one point as Hernandez was attempting a high jump, someone in the stands yelled an insult. An aircraft circled above the stadium for more than an hour during the events, carrying a banner that read, 'No Boys in Girls' Sports!'
The rest of the night ran smoothly for Hernandez, who finished the triple jump with a mark close to 41 feet (13 meters), nearly 10 inches (25 centimeters) ahead of her closest competitor, San Francisco Bay Area junior Kira Gant Hatcher.
Hernandez also led in the long jump with a mark close to 20 feet (6 meters) to advance to the final. She advanced in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 5 inches (1.7 meters) with ease.
She did not address the press.
California at center of national debate
The CIF rule change reflects efforts to find a middle ground in the debate over trans girls' participation in youth sports.
'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,' the group said in a statement after announcing its rule change.
A recent AP-NORC poll found that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults think transgender female athletes should not be allowed to participate in girls and women's sports at the high school, college or professional level. That view was shared by about 9 in 10 Republicans and roughly half of Democrats.
The federation announced the rule change after Trump threatened this week to pull federal funding from California unless it bars trans female athletes from competing on girls teams. The CIF said it decided on the change before then.
The U.S. Department of Justice also said it would investigate the state federation and the district that includes Hernandez's high school to determine whether they violated federal sex discrimination law by allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports.
Some California Republicans also weighed in, with several state lawmakers attending a news conference to criticize the federation for keeping Hernandez in the competition and a Republican gubernatorial candidate planning to attend Saturday's finals.
California law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
The federation said the rule would open the field to more 'biological female' athletes. One expert said the change may itself be discriminatory because it creates an extra spot for 'biological female' athletes but not for other trans athletes.
The federation did not specify how they define 'biological female' or how they would verify whether a competitor meets that definition.
Hernandez told the publication Capital & Main earlier this month that she couldn't worry about critics.
'I'm still a child, you're an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person,' she said.
Another student breaks a record
California's state championship stands out from that of other states because of the number of competitors athletes are up against to qualify. The state had the second-largest number of students participating in outdoor track and field in the nation during the 2023-2024 school year, behind Texas, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Olympians Marion Jones and Tara Davis-Woodhall previously set state championship records in the long jump in 1993 and 2017, respectively, both surpassing 22 feet (6.7 meters).
The boys 100-meter dash heats were also a highlight Friday. Junior Jaden Jefferson of De La Salle High School in Concord finished in 10.01 seconds, about .2 seconds faster than a meet record set in 2023. Jefferson's time won't count as a record unless he can replicate his results in the final.
___
Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Donald Trump Boasts of ‘Big Win' Over ‘Fake News' AP After Court Rules White House Can Ban News Outlet's Access Over Its Refusal to Cite ‘Gulf of America'
A federal appeals court ruled that the White House has the latitude to exclude any journalists it chooses from the Oval Office and other 'restricted areas' — including on the basis of a news outlet's 'viewpoint.' The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in a 2-1 decision Friday, ruled against the AP, which had sued three Trump administration officials in February over a ban on the news organization's access to presidential events as part of the White House press pool. The White House blocked the AP after the outlet continued referring to the body of water on the southeastern periphery of the North America as the Gulf of Mexico, after Trump decreed on Jan. 20 that henceforth it should be known as the 'Gulf of America.' More from Variety Seth Meyers Roasts Elon Musk for Waiting Until Now to Allege 'That Trump Might Be a Pedophile': 'You Already Knew That and It Wasn't a Dealbreaker' Elon Musk Claims Donald Trump 'Is in the Epstein Files': 'That Is the Real Reason They Haven't Been Made Public' Donald Trump Says Elon Musk Has 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' as Rift Grows: 'I Don't Know If We Will' Have a 'Great Relationship' Anymore The development was welcomed by President Trump. 'Big WIN over AP today. They refused to state the facts or the Truth on the GULF OF AMERICA. FAKE NEWS!!!' Trump posted on his Truth Social account Friday. The Gulf of Mexico has been known by that name since at least the late 16th century, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. The appeals court issued a stay, pending appeal, on a lower court's preliminary injunction holding that the Trump administration cannot discriminate against the AP over the Gulf of Mexico/Gulf of America issue. Under the First Amendment, Judge Trevor McFadden wrote in the April decision, 'if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints.' In the ruling Friday, the appeals court disagreed. 'Restricted presidential spaces' such as the Oval Office and Air Force One 'are not First Amendment fora opened for private speech and discussion,' Judge Neomi Rao wrote in the ruling, joined by Judge Gregory Katsas. 'The White House therefore retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted.' Both of the judges are Trump appointees. 'If the president sits down for an interview with [Fox News host] Laura Ingraham, he is not required to do the same with [MSNBC's] Rachel Maddow,' Rao wrote in the opinion. 'The First Amendment does not control the president's discretion in choosing with whom to speak or to whom to provide special access.' The two judges added that without a stay, 'the government will suffer irreparable harm because the injunction impinges on the President's independence and control over his private workspaces.' In a dissenting opinion, Judge Cornelia Pillard of the D.C. Court of Appeals, an Obama appointee, wrote that 'my colleagues assert a novel and unsupported exception to the First Amendment's prohibition of viewpoint-based restrictions of private speech — one that not even the government itself advanced.' She said that 'if the White House were privileged to exclude journalists based on viewpoint, each and every member of the White House press corps would hesitate to publish anything an incumbent administration might dislike.' The Associated Press indicated that it will continue its legal fight in the matter. 'We are disappointed in the court's decision and are reviewing our options,' AP spokesman Patrick Maks said in a statement Friday. According to the AP's report on the ruling, one possibility is that the news organization will seek an expedited review of the full case on its merits. The AP's lawsuit names White House chief of staff Susan Wiles, deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich and press secretary Karoline Leavitt as defendants. On Friday, Leavitt trumpeted the appeals court decision. 'VICTORY!' she wrote in a post on X. 'As we've said all along, the Associated Press is not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in other sensitive locations. Thousands of other journalists have never been afforded the opportunity to cover the President in these privileged spaces.' Leavitt continued, 'Moving forward, we will continue to expand access to new media so that more people can cover the most transparent President in American history rather than just the failing legacy media. And by the way @AP, it's still the Gulf of America.' She ended the post with a smiley-face emoji and the U.S. flag. Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
French Open: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 2 Coco Gauff in the women's final
PARIS (AP) — No.1 Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 2 Coco Gauff in the French Open final on Saturday with both women aiming to win the title for the first time. Gauff lost the 2022 French Open final at age 18 but the American beat Sabalenka in the 2023 U.S. Open final, Gauff's only major so far. The 27-year-old Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, has won three majors but is appearing in her first French Open final. It is the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years. Sabalenka and Gauff have split their 10 previous matchups evenly, but Sabalenka won their most recent encounter, also on a clay court at the Madrid Open a month ago. ___
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Stanley Cup Final for old men: Brad Marchand and Corey Perry shine on hockey's biggest stage
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Brad Marchand and Corey Perry are by far the oldest players in the Stanley Cup Final. Marchand just turned 37 last month, and Perry is 40. Naturally, they combined for a third of the goals in Game 2 on Friday night, showing this is indeed a Cup final for old men, not for the earth but certainly in hockey. Marchand scored his second of the game to win it in double overtime for the Florida Panthers after Perry got the latest tying goal in the history of the final in the waning moments of regulation to give the Edmonton Oilers hope. "You saying he's old, or what?" teammate Seth Jones said of Marchand. 'I'm going to tell him you said that. He's a dog. He's a gamer. He's a competitor. He brings so much energy to our team on and off the ice.' Where does that energy come from to play 22 important minutes? Anton Lundell hopes it comes from him and fellow linemate Eetu Luostarinen, the pups keeping an older dog like Marchand feeling young. 'He likes to spend time and be around us,' said Lundell, who set up each of Marchand's breakaway goals. "He's in great shape, and it seems like nothing is stopping him.' Marchand is not slowing down in his 16th NHL season and 13th playoff run, the first away from the Boston Bruins. He is in the final for a fourth time, this one 14 years removed from his first when he and Boston also faced a Canadian team, the Vancouver Canucks, and won the Cup to keep the country's title drought going. His two-goal game came on the anniversary of scoring short-handed on Roberto Luongo in the 2011 final. Luongo now works for the Panthers in their front office and posted on social media after the game, 'Favorite player of all time.' "Lu is awesome," said Marchand, whose 10 goals in the final are the most among active players, one more than Perry. "Happy to be on his team.' Perry even longer ago helped beat a Canadian team in the final when he and Anaheim defeated Ottawa in 2007. He's playing for the Cup for a sixth time in his career and for the fourth time over the past five years and is still producing at important moments. His tying goal with 17.8 seconds on the clock in the third period was just the latest example. 'Determination, finding a way to find the puck and then obviously putting it in the net. He's got a skill for that,' Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. 'Knowing in the playoffs it's hard to score and you need guys around the net and finding ways, he's as good as anybody finding ways to score.' Plenty of folks might be surprised to see Marchand and Perry doing this at their advanced ages. Paul Maurice, who has coached more games than anyone in NHL history except for Scotty Bowman, is not one of them. Maurice credits rule changes coming out of the 2004-05 lockout and sports science around the league for paving the way for players to contributed later into their 30s and even 40s. 'I think we're coming into an age of that,' Maurice said. "A tremendous amount of care for the players, whether that's the meals that they eat, how we travel — there's a lot of money that goes into allowing these players to play. The old guys and the young guys benefit from the rule change, and they're better fit, conditioned athletes over their entire lives.' Marchand has his own routine, one that goes beyond the Dairy Queen Blizzard jokes that keep swirling around him this playoffs. He rode a stationary bike before overtime, something he likes to do after most periods. 'You're trying to keep your legs going in overtime," Marchand said. 'Keep them feeling good.' The Panthers are feeling good after acquiring Marchand at the deadline from Boston and unleashing him for goals in Game 2 that tied the series. Winger Matthew Tkachuk thinks Marchand scored two of their biggest goals during this run, aging like a fine wine. 'Hopefully he can keep it going,' Tkachuk said. Unreal player, unreal competitor. ... 'He could play till he's 47 the way he's going.' ___
