Latest news with #CIFSouthernSectionMastersMeet
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Watch parents confront trans school athlete AB Hernandez's mother after their daughters were crushed in TWO track events
THIS is the moment a crowd of furious high school parents berate the mother of a trans athlete after another dominant victory. Trans teen AB Hernandez from Jurupa Valley, California came first in women's long jump and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet. 5 AB Hernandez poses with a medal after winning the girls long jump during the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet Credit: AP 5 Her mother was confronted by angry parents Credit: TikTok/sonjashaw7 5 A crowd of furious parents berated her mother for allowing her to compete Credit: TikTok/sonjashaw7 5 AB Hernandez competing during the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet Credit: AP This meant that she qualified for the events in next weekend's state championships. She also finished fourth in the high jump, missing out on a championship place in that event by one spot. But a crowd of angry parents confronted her mother at the event to complain that a trans girl was competing against their daughters. The video, which has now gone viral on TikTok, shows the parents hounding Hernandez's mother for allowing her to compete. One of the parents can be heard yelling at her mother: "What a coward of a woman you are allowing that." Hernandez's story previously made headlines after another teenage girl that she beat to first place in a separate contest waited for her to descend from the podium before moving to pose in the top spot. In the TikTok, the parent can also be heard shouting: "Your mental illness is on your son, coward." But more than half of US states have implemented bans on trans youth athletes participating since 2020. In an Instagram post, Hernandez's mother said: "It takes immense bravery to show up, compete, and be visible in a world that often questions your very right to exist, let alone to participate." Hernandez's case was thrust into national attention after Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from California over her sporting participation. Her successes prompted the California Interscholastic Federation to change its rules to allow "biological female" student athletes who would have made the qualifying mark without a trans contestant in the race to compete in the finals. A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom's office called the proposed pilot "reasonable". California state law allows the participation of trans women and girls in women's sports. Trump posted on Truth Social: "Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to." His message refers to an Executive Order from February titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports". In an interview with Capital & Main, Hernandez said: "There's nothing I can do about people's actions, just focus on my own. "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 faced heckling and protesters in the crowd at a track meet earlier this month and was accompanied by campus security and Sheriff's Department deputies, CNN has reported. "Girls were just shocked that people would actually come to do that, and really bully a child," she said. "I've trained so hard. I mean, hours of conditioning every day, five days a week. "Every day since November, three hours after school. And then all of summer, no summer break for me." Her mother added that those who have "doxed, harassed and violated my daughter AB's privacy" have created a "hostile and unsafe environment for a minor".
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Watch parents confront trans school athlete AB Hernandez's mother after their daughters were crushed in TWO track events
THIS is the moment a crowd of furious high school parents berate the mother of a trans athlete after another dominant victory. Trans teen AB Hernandez from Jurupa Valley, California came first in women's long jump and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet. Advertisement 5 AB Hernandez poses with a medal after winning the girls long jump during the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet Credit: AP 5 Her mother was confronted by angry parents Credit: TikTok/sonjashaw7 5 A crowd of furious parents berated her mother for allowing her to compete Credit: TikTok/sonjashaw7 5 AB Hernandez competing during the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet Credit: AP This meant that she qualified for the events in next weekend's state championships. She also finished fourth in the high jump, missing out on a championship place in that event by one spot. But a crowd of angry parents confronted her mother at the event to complain that a trans girl was competing against their daughters. The video, which has now gone viral on TikTok, shows the parents hounding Hernandez's mother for allowing her to compete. Advertisement One of the parents can be heard yelling at her mother: "What a coward of a woman you are allowing that." Hernandez's story previously made headlines after another teenage girl that she beat to first place in a separate contest waited for her to descend from the podium before moving to pose in the top spot. In the TikTok, the parent can also be heard shouting: "Your mental illness is on your son, coward." But more than half of US states have implemented bans on trans youth athletes participating since 2020. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun In an Instagram post, Hernandez's mother said: "It takes immense bravery to show up, compete, and be visible in a world that often questions your very right to exist, let alone to participate." Hernandez's case was thrust into national attention after Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from California over her sporting participation. Her successes prompted the California Interscholastic Federation to change its rules to allow "biological female" student athletes who would have made the qualifying mark without a trans contestant in the race to compete in the finals. A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom's office called the proposed pilot "reasonable". Advertisement California state law allows the participation of trans women and girls in women's sports. Trump posted on Truth Social: "Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to." His message refers to an Executive Order from February titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports". In an interview with Capital & Main, Hernandez said: "There's nothing I can do about people's actions, just focus on my own. Advertisement "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 faced heckling and protesters in the crowd at a track meet earlier this month and was accompanied by campus security and Sheriff's Department deputies, CNN has reported. "Girls were just shocked that people would actually come to do that, and really bully a child," she said. "I've trained so hard. I mean, hours of conditioning every day, five days a week. Advertisement Read more on the Irish Sun "Every day since November, three hours after school. And then all of summer, no summer break for me." Her mother added that those who have "doxed, harassed and violated my daughter AB's privacy" have created a "hostile and unsafe environment for a minor". 5 California state law allows the participation of trans women and girls in women's sports Credit: AP
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
California track-and-field final enters spotlight for rule change after trans athlete's success
AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley smiles while completing in the girls long jump during the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High School, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Moorpark, Calif. (Kirby Lee via AP) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's high school track-and-field state championships starting Friday are set to be the testing ground for a new participation and medaling policy for competitions that include transgender athletes. The California Interscholastic Federation will let an additional student compete and potentially offer an extra medal in three events in which a trans athlete is competing. The athlete, high school junior AB Hernandez, is the second seed in the triple jump and will also participate in the long jump and high jump. Advertisement It may be the first effort by a high school sports governing body to expand participation when trans athletes are participating, and it 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. State law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity. President Donald Trump threatened this week to pull federal funding from California unless it bars trans female athletes from competing on girls teams. 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. Advertisement What the new participation and medaling policy will look like The meet, which is taking place at a high school near Fresno, will open up the girls triple jump, long jump and high jump to one additional athlete each who would have qualified had Hernandez not participated. Hernandez will compete in the preliminaries Friday for a chance to advance to the finals Saturday. Under the pilot policy, if a transgender athlete medals, their ranking would not displace a 'biological female' student from medaling, the federation said. 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. Advertisement The federation did not specify how they define 'biological female' or how they would verify whether a competitor meets that definition. Medical experts say gender is a spectrum, not a binary structure consisting of only males and females. The two-day meet is expected to draw attention from a coalition of protesting parents and students. Critics have objected Hernandez's participation and heckled her in qualifying events earlier this month. Leaders from the conservative California Family Council joined Republican state lawmakers Thursday for a press conference blasting the policy change and saying Hernandez shouldn't be allowed to compete. 'If they have to create special exceptions and backdoor rule changes to placate frustrated athletes, that's not equality, that's a confession," Sophia Lorey, the council's outreach director, said in a statement. 'Girls' sports should be for girls, full stop.' Advertisement CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti urged participants and bystanders to behave respectfully toward all student-athletes in a message shared in the championship program. Nationwide debate over trans athletes' participation 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. Trump won Fresno County, where the meet will be held, in 2024. Hernandez told the publication Capital & Main earlier this month that she couldn't worry about critics. Advertisement '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. She noted that she has lost some of her events, saying that disproved arguments that she can't be beat. Hernandez is expected to perform well, particularly in the triple jump, in which she has a personal best of over 41 feet (12.5 meters). That is more than 3 feet (1 meter) short of a national record set in 2019. She's the fifth seed in the long jump but ranked much lower in the high jump. California's state championship stands out from that of other states because of the number of competitors athletes are up against to qualify. Advertisement More than 57,000 high schoolers participated in outdoor track and field in California during the 2023-2024 school year, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations. California had the second-largest number of high school outdoor track-and-field athletes, only behind Texas. Of the 12 high school athletes who have set national records in the girls triple jump between 1984 and 2019, eight have been from California, according to the national sports governing body. Davis Whitfield, the national federation's chief operating officer, called a state championship 'the pinnacle' for high school student-athletes. 'It's certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience in some cases to participate in a state championship event," he said. Advertisement ___ 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
