California high school girls allege track meet officials forced them to take off 'Protect Girls Sports' shirts

Sky News AU

14-05-2025

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) came under fire this week for a postseason track meet that saw a biologically male trans athlete place in the top nine of three girls' events.
The CIF Southern Section Division 3 Prelims at Yorba Linda High School on Saturday erupted into a political rally over the issue of trans inclusion in girls' sports with multiple competitors and attendees wearing shirts that read "Protect Girls Sports," hoisting picket signs and speaking out at a press conference.
During the meet, officials allegedly made athletes remove the "Protect Girls Sports" shirts, suppressing their desire to voice opposition to the CIF gender eligibility policy. The CIF has acknowledged to Fox News Digital that the incidents did occur, and that the girls had their school uniforms on under the shirts.
"Per the CIF Southern Section Playoff Bulletin, all athletes must be dressed in proper, school issued, track uniforms. The student-athletes were asked to comply with this while in the on-field event area, as they were wearing said shirts over their school-issued uniform," the CIF said in a statement.
However, witnesses have told Fox News Digital that the officials did not give the same orders to athletes wearing other non-school-uniform shirts without the "Protect Girls Sports" message.
The protests came in response to a biologically male trans athlete who competed in the girls' high jump, long jump and triple jump for Jurupa Valley High School.
The trans athlete ultimately finished in the top nine in the girls' high jump, long jump and finished in first place in the triple jump. By virtue of placing in the top-nine in all those events, the athlete will advance in the state semifinals, while the three female athletes who finished in 11th place in those events will all miss out.
Meanwhile, many of the athletes who competed had to wait through an hours-long intermission after temperatures exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit, putting the event in a weather delay due to dangerous heat levels.
Multiple female competitors told Fox News Digital that officials at the meet allegedly approached them and told them to remove the shirts, and did not give the girls the liberty to go and take them off elsewhere. The girls allege the officials made them take off the shirts immediately, under the officials' supervision, and didn't give them any additional time or opportunities to do it elsewhere.
California high school girls' athletes wear 'Protect Girls Sports' shirts at a postseason track meet at Yorba Linda High School. Picture: Courtesy of Reese Hogan
"They didn't let us go and do anything unless we removed the shirt," 15-year-old Brea Olinda High School student Lily Ingallinera said. "They said, 'you have to remove it right now!' … He didn't leave until we took it off."
Fellow Brea Olinda student Julia Teven, 17, alleged that an official gave similar orders to her.
"You could tell he was not going to take no for an answer," Teven said. "He was standing right there watching us like 'you better take it off'. That's basically how it kind of felt."
Ingallinera added that she found the official's orders "weird," and preferred it if he asked her coach or a female official to relay the message instead.
"I thought it was a little weird that this grown man was coming up to us and persistently saying 'I need you to take it off.' I think they should have told our coaches to come tell us instead of this official that I know is older than us and a grown adult and I feel like either a woman should have done it or he should have done it on the speaker telling everyone and not just individually telling everyone," Ingallinera said.
Teven and Crean Lutheran student Reese Hogan, 16, alleged that officials made them feel that if they did not take off their shirts, then they would be disqualified from the event.
"It wasn't said but it was implied that if I didn't take my shirt off then and there, then something could potentially happen to my spot, it wasn't said but it was implied," Hogan said. "Throughout the day it was kind of getting a little bit more stricter… getting a little bit more hostile with their voices… they never said anything about getting disqualified, but it was kind of implied by the tone of their voice and the way that they said things."
The girls alleged the officials at the meet went up to other athletes who wore the "Protect Girls Sports" shirts and made those athletes remove them as well.
Hogan added that she was forced to remove her shirt on the field during warm-ups and then again at the gate after stepping out of the venue and trying to come back in, while her hands were full of other supplies.
"I was like 'Is it okay if I walk in and take it off? I don't really have hands right now' and she was like 'No, you're going to have to take it off, you can't come in here with that shirt on,'" Hogan alleged. "They kind of were just making us take the shirts off wherever we were."
Teven, Hogan and fellow Crean Lutheran student Olivia Viola said the officials told them the reasoning behind asking to remove the shirts was because the shirts weren't official school uniforms. However, the girls also said that other athletes wearing gear with college names or other brands that weren't official school uniforms weren't asked to remove their shirts.
"I just found it really, like, really, it felt like it was unfair, just kind of targeted at, at what we were standing for, because the shirts weren't saying anything offensive. It wasn't derogatory. All it was saying was to protect women's sports," Viola said. "And it was really clear that they only wanted our shirts off because of what we were supporting and didn't care about the actual role because of the other athletes that we're wearing."
All four girls claim that the police presence at the meet was heightened to levels they had never seen at a high school track meet, as the event became a hotbed for debate over the national conflict over trans athletes in girls' sports. Jurupa Valley's trans competitor has prompted controversy throughout the season, breaking long-held girls' records at various meets.
In addition to the shirts and a press conference where students, parents and community leaders spoke out against the CIF and California state government for continuing to protect trans inclusion, the crowd of spectators in attendance boisterously either cheered or jeered the trans competitor throughout the day.
Footage on social media shows some spectators chanting "that's a boy!" at the athlete, while Viola said other fans only cheered for the trans athlete during the event while remaining silent for the female competitors.
"I know it was like, really, really split, specifically, like when he was jumping, and it was like you could visibly see it, almost like it felt like half the stadium was, like, against it. And then there was like a little chunk of people over here that would, like, cheer really loudly for everything he did," Viola said.
"It just was bothersome to me. It was a little bit sad to hear people cheering louder for the biological male competing in a female sport than the females competing in the female sports. That part was just a little bit, that part was saddening to me."
However, the four girls also expressed sympathy for the athlete over the insults that were hurled at it by the other spectators.
"I don't, I don't condone the like, the bullying, the yelling of this person. I think it's 100% on the people in authority who are allowing it to happen," Viola said.
Teven and Ingallinera say they even spoke to the athlete during breaks on Saturday, and don't believe the athlete is at fault for the situation
"I genuinely believe he doesn't have a harmful intent towards girls sports. I think it's the kind of like CIF allowing him that's kind of put him in his position," Teven said. "I think genuinely, he's just, like, being enabled by the CIF, and he's just taking his opportunity presented to him."
Ingallinera even said the athlete was "very nice" and believes the CIF is putting the athlete in an unfair position.
"I did talk to this guy, and he was very, he was very respectful, very kind. He didn't really say anything hurtful things. I didn't say anything rude to him. And I was just like, there he was very nice," Ingallinera said. "I think that if CIF didn't allow them to compete, they would be competing with the guys division instead of the girls."
The CIF is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for allowing trans athletes to compete in girls' sports, and potential Title IX violations.
California was one of the first states to openly defy President Donald Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order after he signed it on Feb. 5.
"The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences in compliance with California law [Education Code section 221.5. (f)] which permits students to participate in school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with the student's gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the student's records," the CIF previously said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
California Governor Gavin Newsom addressed the issue during an episode of his podcast in early March.
"Well, I think it's an issue of fairness," Newsom said to conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. "I completely agree with you on that. It's deeply unfair.
"So that's easy to call out the unfairness of that. There's also a humility and a grace… these poor people are more likely to commit suicide, have anxiety and depression, and the way that people talk down to vulnerable communities is an issue that I have a hard time with as well.
"So both things I can hold in my hand. How can we address this issue with the kind of decency that I think you know is inherent in you, but not always expressed on the issue?
"The question you're asking is the question we've been asking ourselves for months and haven't been able to answer. What is that line? How can you make this fair? I haven't been able to figure it out, and I'm about as transparent about this as anybody out there, especially in my party on this. To the extent someone can and do it in a way that's respectful and responsible and could find the kind of balance, then I'm open to that discussion."
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom's office on the latest controversy but has not heard back.
Originally published as California high school girls allege track meet officials forced them to take off 'Protect Girls Sports' shirts