Latest news with #CaliforniaChampionship
The Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- The Sun
AB Hernandez grins on podium as trans athlete wins state championship despite ‘violent' protests over competition
TRANS athlete AB Hernandez was seen grinning and flaunting medals after defeating female rivals at the California state track championship. Hernandez claimed gold in the high jump and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state finals - defying Donald Trump 's executive order that bans trans athletes from women's sports. 9 9 9 9 9 Violent protests erupted yesterday as the trans pupil, 16, sparked a heated row after competing in women's sports. Trump had said on social media that he was 'ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow' Hernandez to compete. But the CIF this week introduced a new policy that allowed an additional student to compete and win medals in the events where Hernandez qualified. This is why the trans athlete shared winning spots with at least one female rival. Hernandez claimed tied-first place in the varsity high jump final alongside Lelani Laruelle and Jillene Wetteland - both females. The trans athlete later won another first-place in the triple jump, sharing the top spot with Kira Gant Hatcher - who trailed by just over a half-meter. But the sports row surrounding Hernandez took a dramatic turn yesterday after furious protesters gathered around the stadium to denounce the trans teen. They were seen carrying placards and boards outside the Veterans' Memorial Stadium, where the sporting event took place. A banner reading "NO BOYS IN GIRLS' SPORTS!" was flown above the sporting venue during the high school track-and-field championships. Trump rips into boxer Imane Khelif about controversial Olympics win against Angela Carini The protests quickly turned violent after one person was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Clovis police Sgt. Chris Hutchison told the Chronicle. He said the person - understood to be an LGBTQ activist - allegedly used a Pride flag to smash a car window, leaving a person injured. During the heats, furious high school parents berated Hernandez's mother for the trans athlete's dominant victory. The video, which has now gone viral on TikTok, shows the parents hounding Hernandez's mother for allowing the teen to compete. One of the parents can be heard yelling at the mother: "What a coward of a woman you are allowing that." Hernandez's story previously made headlines after another teenage girl, who the athlete beat to first place in a separate contest, waited for Hernandez 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." 9 9 More than half of the US states have implemented bans on trans youth athletes participating since 2020. But 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, from Jurupa Valley, California, said: "There's nothing I can do about people's actions, just focus on my own." The trans pupil 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. 9
Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
California track and field championship sees arrest and aerial banner amid transgender controversy
The California track and field state championship prelim round in Clovis on Friday was a scene of conflicting beliefs and even police intervention amid an ongoing controversy involving a trans athlete competing in the girls' category. At least one person was arrested, the Clovis Police Department confirmed Fox News Digital. The person arrested was a protester who is accused of shattering a car window with a flag pole. The department confirmed the person arrested was an LGBTQ activist. "This afternoon at 3:55PM, a disturbance between two adults occurred at the intersection of Nees/Minnewawa. One adult on the sidewalk and one in a vehicle at the intersection became involved in a disturbance that turned physical. During the disturbance, one of them used pepper spray against the other. EMS was called and one of the adults was arrested," a statement read. The person has been arrested for assault with a weapon and obstructing a police, according to Sergeant Chris Hutchison. "We don't have room for violence or property damage or anything like that," Hutchison. Meanwhile, a plane flying a banner that read "no boys in girls' sports" passed over the California track and field championship Friday in Clovis. Footage provided to Fox News Digital by California activist Beth Bourne showed the plan flying overhead at Buchanan High School's Veterans Memorial Stadium. The stunt was organized by two women's advocacy group, Women are Real and the Independent Council for Women's Sports. "California is beginning to reap the consequences of defying federal law and brazenly harming girls," said Kim Jones, co-founder of ICONS in a press release announcing the aerial banner. "How long will Governor Newsom and legislators in this state continue to prioritize granting a few boys the right to take opportunities and recognition away from girls? Not one single boy should ever be in girls' sports. It's the easiest problem in the world to solve—and the most brazen public 'screw you' to female athletes by Democrat leadership. Since when do we tell a single boy he is more important than every girl in the competition? That he has the right to ruin sports for all of them? It's time for California to pay and it's time to right these wrongs." Witnesses at the event told Fox News Digital that pro-transgender protesters attended the event in support of transgender athlete AB Hernandez. The meet and the California Interscholastic Federation's (CIF) entire track and field postseason has been under a national microscope in recent weeks. Trans athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High School has dominated the girls' track and field postseason in 2025, prompting national backlash and even the attention of President Donald Trump. Trump sent a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, warning the state and Gov. Gavin Newsom of potential funding cuts and orders to local authorities to prevent a trans athlete from competing in the girls' category. Then the Department of Justice announced it would launch an investigation into the CIF and California Attorney General Rob Bonta over the state's law that allows biologically male trans athletes to compete with girls and women on Wednesday. The CIF announced a pair of rule changes on Tuesday and Wednesday in response to the backlash, expanding the size of the competitor pool and even handing out medals to any "biological female" athlete displaced by a transgender athlete at the meet. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Activist athletes urge California girls' track title contenders to stand up to trans inclusion at state meet
California high school girls' track and field athletes will compete in the meet of their lives this weekend under the national spotlight at the state championship in Clovis. The meet will double as a battleground for the ongoing culture war over trans athletes in girls' sports, with a trans athlete set to compete in multiple girls' events. Protests and demonstrations are expected by spectators. Whether the athletes protest is yet to be seen. Several prominent former women's athletes who have been impacted by trans inclusion in their careers have expressed support for the girls competing to "stand up" against the California Interscholastic Federation during the event: Scanlan, a former UPenn swimmer, was forced to share a team and locker room with Lia Thomas during the 2021-22 women's swimming season. Scanland became the first UPenn women's swimmer to speak out against the school for allowing Thomas to compete with females, after the controversial season ended. Scanlan skewered California Governor Gavin Newsom for letting the situation in the state get to this point, and encouraged the girls involved to "stand up" on Saturday. "It's make or break for California. This is no longer a bipartisan issue, and even democrats see that. Gavin Newsom couldn't be more out of touch with women. I am beyond grateful that the Trump administration is taking this issue so seriously and I encourage all female athletes to stand up against this. I support them and I know the majority of Americans do too," Scanlan told Fox News Digital. Turner made global headlines at the start of April when she refused to compete and knelt in protest of a trans opponent at a fencing match in Maryland. Turner says she would support the girls competing in Clovis to stand up for themselves as well this weekend. "I fully support these young women standing up against males in the women's track and field events. CIF has stolen the precious high school competitive years from these young ladies and compromised their athletic and scholastic trajectories by allowing males in their category," Turner told Fox News Digital. Turner praised one young woman who has already spoken out, La Canada High School track and field star Katie McGuinness, who urged the CIF to "take action" in amending its policy after finishing second to the trans athlete at a sectional final on May 17. "Katie McGuinness is right, this is a time-sensitive issue and CIF would do well to abandon all transgender policies immediately and comply with both the President's Executive Order and Title IX," Turner said. "These women are extraordinarily brave to be speaking out at their age. This is not easy, but women and girls across the United States thank them for their stand!" McNabb suffered permanent brain injuries after she was spiked in the head by a trans opponent during a high school match in 2022. She has since become a leading ambassador for standing up against trans athletes in girls' and women's sports, and testified before congress alongside Turner at a recent DOGE hearing earlier this month. McNabb reminded girls competing in Clovis this weekend that they have the right to stand up or even "walk away" from the competition. "To the girls competing in California — I know exactly how it feels to lose to a male athlete. It's not fair, and it's not right. You've trained for years, and now you're being pushed aside because officials would rather protect feelings than protect girls. You don't owe silence to anyone," McNabb told Fox News Digital. "If you want to speak up or walk out — do it. You're not alone, and you're not crazy for wanting fairness. Women have fought for decades to have equal opportunities in sports. Letting males take over isn't progress — it's going backwards. To California officials — you're failing these girls. You're letting biological males dominate their sports and take their spots. This isn't equality — it's erasure. And we're done pretending it's okay." Soule, a former high school track and field athlete herself in Connecticut, was one of the first young women to stand up against systems that allow biological males to compete against women in 2018. That year, as a four-time National Qualifier, she was forced out of a regional championship due to two trans athletes taking women's spots and who lost out on the chance to earn attention from college scouts and potential scholarships because of those snubs. Then she began to speak out in interviews with local news outlets. "I understand exactly how all the girls competing in this upcoming championship meet feel as I was in the same situation for 4 years during high school," Soule told Fox News Digital. Soule wouldn't encourage the California athletes to refuse to compete this weekend, but she would support some sort of demonstration by them. "It's easy for people to say that girls should take a stand and refuse to compete against a male athlete but it's not easy to sit it out when you've dedicated long hours training and sacrificed things like parties or sleepovers with friends to qualify for this meet. It's a devastating and demoralizing choice these girls are facing and my heart breaks for them," she said. "If I could say something to each girl in this competition it would be to compete and give it your best. You may have the chance to beat your personal best or break a school record. If you're robbed of the chance to get a higher place or just miss the podium, you could refuse to stand on the podium next to a male with unfair advantage during the awards ceremony and take your rightful place afterwards. I and the vast majority of this country have your back." Soule later sued the state of Connecticut over its gender eligibility policies, and the suit is ongoing. Some California girls' athletes have already taken steps to stand up against the CIF this track and field postseason. Crean Lutheran High Schooler Reese Hogan stepped up into the first-place stand on the medal podium for triple jump at a sectional final on May 17 after the first-place winner, trans athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High School, stepped off it. Footage of Hogan's stunt went viral and helped ignite awareness of the situation in California. Before that, during the Southern Sectional Prelims on May 10, several athletes wore shirts that read "Protect Girls Sports" and wielded picket signs that called out the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) for its policies, and some even spoke at a press conference that included activists opposing trans inclusion. However, Fox News Digital previously reported that CIF officials forced multiple girls wearing the shirts to remove them, and the CIF acknowledged the incidents occurred in a statement. Title IX expert Ryan Bangert senior vice president for strategic initiatives and special counsel to the president at the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom told Fox News Digital that the girls have every right to peacefully protest during the weekend's competitions how they see fit. And any retaliation by the CIF against those who protest could be violations of the first amendment. "California needs to be cautious because every sovereign entity and every government entity has an obligation to follow the commands of the first amendment, and California is no different," Bangert said, adding that the state is under even more scrutiny if it tramples on the first amendment in defense of the "failing ideology" of biological males competing in girls' sports. If CIF officials do try to prevent the girls from competing, Bangert suggested there are legal steps they could take in response. "I think those girls would be well advised to consider all their legal rights and remedies in that situation," Bangert said about potential prevention or retaliation against girls who choose to protest this weekend. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
