Trans athlete AB Hernandez says it's ‘weird' people protested high school track events: ‘I did what I wanted to do'
The teen, who was born a biological male, is on the track and field team at Jurupa Valley High School in Southern California, which dominated the California high school track-and-field championship on May 31.
The high school junior faced scrutiny at events over the last few months, with many actively protesting at meets and online since Hernandez was participating against biological females.
'It's definitely crazy, I get a lot of hate comments, but I'm like, 'I don't care,'' Hernandez told KCRA.
'[I'm a] 16-year-old girl with a mad attitude. You think I'm going to care?'
The student-athlete also found people who were continually protesting the high school events to be a bizarre sight.
'It's just weird at this point,' Hernandez said.
While dozens of demonstrators were outside the stadium gates to protest, Hernandez said people were more supportive inside.
'I wasn't expecting any of it, to be honest. I was just expecting to go out there and compete alone, but the support was amazing,' she said.
'They really made my experience perfect. I will forever be grateful for them because they helped me get through the weekend.'
Hernandez tied in the varsity high jump final against two biological females, Jillene Wetteland and Lelanie Laruelle, and shared the podium with them due to a newly passed California policy.
The student-athlete also took home gold for the triple jump, finishing with a final jump of 42 feet 2 inches, and had to share the podium with Kira Grant Hatcher, who jumped 40 feet 5 inches.
'I did what I wanted to do,' Hernandez said. 'My performance was all I wanted to be good. So all this backlash … I performed my best, so that's all I cared about.'
The California Interscholastic Federation changed its rules before the event to mandate that any biological females who lost to a trans athlete would not lose their place, meaning Hernandez's performance would displace no female winners.
The new rule also allowed an additional biological female student-athlete to compete in each category in which Hernandez was set to perform.
The change came in the wake of criticism over the federation's handling of Hernandez's success, including from President Trump, who threatened to withhold funding from the Golden State.
'California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum [sic], continues to ILLEGALLY allow 'MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN'S SPORTS,'' Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump previously warned that federal funding would be 'held back, maybe permanently' if the Golden State didn't adhere to his February executive order to safeguard women's sports.
The president also said at the time that he would order 'local authorities, if necessary, to not allow' a transgender athlete to compete in the women's track and field contest, though he did not mention Hernandez by name.
The Trump administration previously launched an inquiry into Maine to determine whether it was breaking Title IX rules by allowing transgender athletes to compete, putting at least $250 million in annual federal funding for the state in the crosshairs.
However, the White House later agreed to unfreeze funding for Maine amid litigation and negotiations.
Last month, the Justice Department announced plans to investigate whether California's School Success and Opportunity Act, which allows transgender students to compete in women's sports, violates Title IX.
Originally published as Trans athlete AB Hernandez says it's 'weird' people protested high school track events: 'I did what I wanted to do'
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