Latest news with #CaliforniaChampionships
Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Trans athlete AB Hernandez slammed by protestors after beating female peers in California championship finals
Transgender woman AB Hernandez sparked outrage as she leapt to victory against her female peers at the California high school championships Saturday. Hernandez, 17, claimed gold in the high jump and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state finals, facing criticism from protestors and parents as she stormed to victory under a new rule change. The CIF had announced a new policy earlier this week in response to backlash surrounding Hernandez's success heading into the championships. Under the change, the federation allowed an additional student to compete and medal in the events where Hernandez qualified, meaning she shared her finish with at least one other competitor in all three events. Hernandez claimed tied-first place in the varsity high jump final, sharing the spot atop the podium with female competitors Lelani Laruelle and Jillene Wetteland. The trio cleared the 5' 7" mark to split the gold medal three ways, while Julia Teven to settle for third. She later wrapped up the night with another first-place finish, this time in the triple jump. She again shared the top spot with Kira Gant Hatcher, who trailed by just over a half-meter. Earlier in the afternoon, she could only manage a second-place finish in the long jump event after her jump of 20' 8¾" fell just short of the winning 21' 0¼" mark set by Loren Webster. Hernandez beamed as she posed alongside co-second Brooke White. The dramatic row surrounding Hernandez's participation had sparked fury across the U.S., with President Donald Trump even threatening to hold back 'large scale Federal Funding' and blasting the state governor who he claims has continued to 'ILLEGALLY allow "MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN'S SPORTS"'. In February, Trump signed an executive order banning trans athletes from women's sports called 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports'. Both Hernandez and her mother Nereyda refused to comment on the president's furious response when asked by following the finals. In previous meets, Hernandez has faced controversy from her own competitors - with a teenage girl she beat to first place waiting for her rival to get down from the top of the podium before posing up there herself. Meanwhile, her mom has been confronted by angry parents whose daughters are losing out on gold medals as a result. Ahead of Saturday's championships, Hernandez and her escort traipsed past protestors who had once again voiced their outrage against the athlete's participation. The demonstrators, who were forced to carry out their protest outside the stadium due to the CIF's rules, carried signs sayings 'NO DUDES IN GIRLS SPACES' and 'NO CHILD IS BORN IN THE WRONG BODY.' Despite the CIF's ban on banners and signs inside the ground, the message of the protestors could be heard over the fence. 'No guys in girls sports,' one man's shout was blasted through a megaphone as Hernandez made her first jump, which she shockingly scratched. Yet, Hernandez wasn't to be deterred. Brushing off the interruption, she bounced back to form, going on to cruise to her two golds and silver medal. However, protestor Beth Bourne, 55, from Davis, California, insisted that her outrage wasn't directed at Hernandez, but rather her mother. 'I feel huge compassion for this young man, this boy, he's 17 years old,' Bourne, a member of the 'Moms for Liberty Yolo County' group, told 'He has a mother who's been duped to believe that her child could be born in the wrong body. 'Many of these feminine boys could grow up to be gay, healthy men. AB Hernandez enjoys wearing makeup, long hair, dresses. His mother believes that rather than letting her son grow up to be a gay boy, that he could be a trans woman, right? So if you have a mother who is affirming a young boy to believe that he could grow up to be a woman.' 'We want to protect his body,' Bourne added. 'We do not want him to be a medical experiment. We don't want him to lose his healthy sexual organs. We don't want him to put on estrogen or puberty blockers that will sterilize him. 'It's an unfolding medical scandal and it's okay to say that every child is perfect in their body. It is not transphobic. It is not hateful. It is not bigoted.' Hernandez sealed her place in three finals after coming out on top in all of her preliminary heats on Friday - despite the shocking scenes outside the stadium. Meanwhile, Hernandez's mom has been branded 'evil' by conservative women's advocate Riley Gaines, in an interview with Gaines pulled no punches when she slammed 'progressives' including Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom - who she dubbed a 'slimy car salesman' and 'spineless coward' - for enabling biologically born boys to participate in sports alongside girls. She also called out 'crazy unhinged trans activists' for creating chaos. 'His mom is a pretty evil person,' Gaines said. 'I believe she is using her son to live out some fantasy or dream that maybe she had. 'She has lied to AB in affirming his identity - the total façade - and in the process has harmed real women. I have empathy for AB. He's a victim as well. But that doesn't give him the right to trample on women in the process to fulfill his happiness. 'AB Hernandez is of course not the first boy to compete in the state of California - whether it's track and field, whatever sport it may be. He is following the rules. So I don't have any animosity or hatred or wish any sort of ill will on the boy. Ultimately, it's the rules that are the problem. 'Harm [is] being done because of his acceptance into women's sports and women's spaces. That's what has been relayed to me by many of the girls who have competed against AB. 'Sports are not about inclusion at the level he's competing. It's not about your feelings. It's about winning, to put it as bluntly as possible. Women aren't just a tool used to fulfill men's happiness. That's not what we are. Unfortunately, that's what women are being used for again. But we say enough. 'I'm not trying to rid anyone of opportunities. I believe every single person should play sports. But play in the categories that are safe and fair to everyone. 'We cannot prioritize inclusion over safety and fairness. That undermines the foundation of what sports were created to do.'
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
California track-and-field final enters spotlight for rule change after trans athlete's success
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — 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.
