Latest news with #GirlsSports
Fox News
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Plane flying 'No Boys in Girls' Sports' banner over track meet goes viral as trans athlete dominates
A plane that flew a banner that read "No Boys in Girls' Sports!" over the California track and field state championship prelims at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis on Friday set the internet ablaze. The display, which was organized by the women's outreach groups, Women are Real and the Independent Council for Women's Sports (ICONS), drew strong reactions amid national controversy over trans athlete AB Hernandez competing in the girls' competition. Many supporters of the movement to protect women's and girls' sports praised the stunt on social media, including former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines. Hernandez went on to claim first place in long jump, triple jump and high jump, beating out all the female competitors, and will now compete for the state title in the finals on Saturday. However, due to recent CIF rule changes, the girls who would normally finish one spot out of advancing to Saturday's finals will qualify since Hernandez took a spot. The CIF instituted these rule changes in the days leading up to the event amid mass backlash, threats of federal funding cuts by President Donald Trump and a Department of Justice investigation against the state. Friday's events also featured one arrest, as police confirmed to Fox News Digital that a pro-LGBTQ protester was apprehended after breaking the car windows of another attendee. "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 police, according to Sergeant Chris Hutchison. "We don't have room for violence or property damage or anything like that," Hutchison. Activists on both sides will return to Veteran's Memorial Stadium on Saturday for the final round, as Hernandez looks to finish off a dominant and controversial postseason run under a heated national spotlight. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sky News AU
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
'Can't stand for this': California girls' track athlete opens up on losing first place title to trans competitor
A high school track meet became the latest flashpoint in the fight against boys participating in girls' sports after multiple female competitors fell shy of first place to a biologically male trans athlete. A high school track meet in Southern California became the latest flashpoint in the state's ongoing conflict with President Donald Trump's administration over trans athletes in girls' sports. There, multiple girls' competitors fell shy of first place to a biologically male trans athlete. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Final on Saturday saw the trans athlete take first place in the triple jump and long jump. The second-place finisher in the long jump was Katie McGuinness of La Canada High School. McGuinness recounted the experience of losing to the trans athlete in an interview on Fox News' "America Reports." "I remember thinking to myself, 'OK, I need to get a big jump,'" McGuinness said. "I ran down the runway and I landed and I watched them measure my mark, and it was 18.9," she said. "And I just remember thinking that there was nothing else that I could do. That was it. And I was honestly very discouraged, and I'm a high school senior and winning CIF has always been a goal of mine, and I wasn't able to compete with someone who was genetically different than me." McGuinness made her overall stance on the issue clear. "There are just certain genetic advantages that biological males have that biological girls don't," she said. "Frankly, I just can't stand for that." The second-place finisher to the trans athlete in triple jump, Reese Hogan of Crean Lutheran High School, made it a point to stand on the first-place podium spot for a quick and symbolic photo op. Footage of Hogan taking the top podium spot after the trans athlete stepped off went viral on social media over the weekend. Hogan had just competed against the trans athlete in the prelims a week earlier. At that event, Hogan also came in behind the trans athlete in the triple jump, finishing third, and would have placed one spot higher were it not for the trans athlete. But Hogan did finish ahead of the trans athlete in the high jump. "It's just kind of sad just watching. He's obviously a really talented athlete, we've all seen him jump and stuff, and I wish him the best of luck, but in a boys' division," Hogan previously told Fox News Digital about competing against the athlete. "It's pretty obvious the certain advantages that he has, and it's obviously just sad as a woman to watch that." Hogan also spoke at a press conference to protest the trans athlete at the prelims and wore a shirt that read, "Protect Girls Sports." "It was nothing against the athlete itself, it was just an issue of fairness," Hogan previously said. "Nothing that we can do, no amount of training, no amount of hours that we put in, we could never achieve the same amount of advantages that a man can have." — Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 18, 2025 The CIF track and field postseason has been overshadowed by the controversy involving the trans athlete, garnering national scrutiny against the CIF and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson sent a warning to the state in the days leading up to the CIF Southern Section final, referencing previous reports that CIF officials made competitors remove their Protect Girls Sports shirts. "CIF's and Jurupa Valley High School's apparent flouting of federal civil rights law by allowing a male athlete to compete in a female California track and field [Southern Sectional Division 3 final] this Saturday, and the alleged retaliation against the girls who are protesting this, is indefensible," Julie Hartman, a Department of Education spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. The CIF is already under a federal Title IX investigation over the state's trans-inclusion practices. The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation against CIF in February after President Donald Trump signed the Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports executive order. The CIF was one of the first high school sports leagues in the country to announce it would defy the order. Newsom, in a February episode of his podcast, said he believes trans athletes competing in girls' sports is "deeply unfair" but has not taken any steps as governor to change the state's policies. The state has had a law in place that allows trans athletes to compete with females since 2014. "California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who, in a startling moment of moral clarity, recently remarked that it was 'deeply unfair' for men to compete in women's sports," Hartman continued. "Where is Gov. Newsom now? With or without the governor, the Trump administration's Department of Education's commitment is unwavering: We will not allow institutions to trample upon women's civil rights. OCR's (Office of Civil Rights) investigation into CIF continues with vigor." The trans athlete represents Jurupa Valley High School. The Jurupa Unified School District provided a statement to Fox News Digital in response to the Department of Education's statement. "JUSD continues to follow both California law and CIF policy regarding school athletics. Both state law and CIF policy currently require that students be permitted to participate in athletic teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records. JUSD remains committed to protecting the rights and safety of the students we serve, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws," the statement reads. Originally published as 'Can't stand for this': California girls' track athlete opens up on losing first place title to trans competitor
New York Post
22-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Girls' track athlete opens up on losing title to California trans competitor: ‘Nothing that we can do'
A high school track meet in Southern California became the latest flashpoint in the state's ongoing conflict with President Donald Trump's administration over trans athletes in girls' sports. There, multiple girls' competitors fell shy of first place to a biologically male trans athlete. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Final on Saturday saw the trans athlete take first place in the triple jump and long jump. The second-place finisher in the long jump was Katie McGuinness of La Canada High School. McGuinness recounted the experience of losing to the trans athlete in an interview on Fox News' 'America Reports.' 'I remember thinking to myself, 'OK, I need to get a big jump,'' McGuinness said. 'I ran down the runway and I landed and I watched them measure my mark, and it was 18.9,' she said. 'And I just remember thinking that there was nothing else that I could do. That was it. And I was honestly very discouraged, and I'm a high school senior and winning CIF has always been a goal of mine, and I wasn't able to compete with someone who was genetically different than me.' McGuinness made her overall stance on the issue clear. 4 Katie McGuinness recounted losing to the trans athlete, Reese Hogan. FOX News 'There are just certain genetic advantages that biological males have that biological girls don't,' she said. 'Frankly, I just can't stand for that.' The second-place finisher to the trans athlete in triple jump, Reese Hogan of Crean Lutheran High School, made it a point to stand on the first-place podium spot for a quick and symbolic photo op. Footage of Hogan taking the top podium spot after the trans athlete stepped off went viral on social media over the weekend. Hogan had just competed against the trans athlete in the prelims a week earlier. At that event, Hogan also came in behind the trans athlete in the triple jump, finishing third, and would have placed one spot higher were it not for the trans athlete. But Hogan did finish ahead of the trans athlete in the high jump. 4 Multiple girls' competitors fell shy of first place to a biologically male trans athlete. MediaNews Group via Getty Images 'It's just kind of sad just watching. He's obviously a really talented athlete, we've all seen him jump and stuff, and I wish him the best of luck, but in a boys' division,' Hogan previously told Fox News Digital about competing against the athlete. 'It's pretty obvious the certain advantages that he has, and it's obviously just sad as a woman to watch that.' Hogan also spoke at a press conference to protest the trans athlete at the prelims and wore a shirt that read, 'Protect Girls Sports.' 'It was nothing against the athlete itself, it was just an issue of fairness,' Hogan previously said. 'Nothing that we can do, no amount of training, no amount of hours that we put in, we could never achieve the same amount of advantages that a man can have.' The CIF track and field postseason has been overshadowed by the controversy involving the trans athlete, garnering national scrutiny against the CIF and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson sent a warning to the state in the days leading up to the CIF Southern Section final, referencing previous reports that CIF officials made competitors remove their Protect Girls Sports shirts. 4 The CIF track and field postseason has been overshadowed by the controversy involving the trans athlete. FOX News 'CIF's and Jurupa Valley High School's apparent flouting of federal civil rights law by allowing a male athlete to compete in a female California track and field [Southern Sectional Division 3 final] this Saturday, and the alleged retaliation against the girls who are protesting this, is indefensible,' Julie Hartman, a Department of Education spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. The CIF is already under a federal Title IX investigation over the state's trans-inclusion practices. The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation against CIF in February after President Donald Trump signed the Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports executive order. The CIF was one of the first high school sports leagues in the country to announce it would defy the order. Newsom, in a February episode of his podcast, said he believes trans athletes competing in girls' sports is 'deeply unfair' but has not taken any steps as governor to change the state's policies. The state has had a law in place that allows trans athletes to compete with females since 2014. 4 McGuinness finished seventh in the women's high jump invitational during the 2025 Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High School in Arcadia on Saturday, April 12, 2025. MediaNews Group via Getty Images 'California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who, in a startling moment of moral clarity, recently remarked that it was 'deeply unfair' for men to compete in women's sports,' Hartman continued. 'Where is Gov. Newsom now? With or without the governor, the Trump administration's Department of Education's commitment is unwavering: We will not allow institutions to trample upon women's civil rights. OCR's (Office of Civil Rights) investigation into CIF continues with vigor.' The trans athlete represents Jurupa Valley High School. The Jurupa Unified School District provided a statement to Fox News Digital in response to the Department of Education's statement. 'JUSD continues to follow both California law and CIF policy regarding school athletics. Both state law and CIF policy currently require that students be permitted to participate in athletic teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records. JUSD remains committed to protecting the rights and safety of the students we serve, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws,' the statement reads.
Fox News
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Teen girls open up on trans athlete scandal that turned their high school into a culture war battleground
Taylor Starling and Kaitlyn Slavin – student athletes at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California – held a live press conference on X Friday hosted California Family Council Outreach Director Sophia Lorey. The two girls shared their perspectives on a recent national controversy that has besieged their community caused by a trans athlete competing on the girls' cross country team. "It was confusing, this has never happened to me before, like I didn't even think this was going to be happening to me," Starling said. "It was all just like, surprising, that there was going to be a guy running with the girls." Slavin, who is only a freshman, said the experience of having her first year of high school involve the situation is "kind of crazy." "Just in high school, having to compete against males when you shouldn't be is something that shocked me right away," Slavin said. Starling lost her varsity spot to a trans athlete who transferred to the school this past year, and when they wore shirts that read "Save Girls Sports" in protest, they allege school administrators compared the shirts to swastikas. The two girls and their families are now engaged in a lawsuit against the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) over those allegations. In response, hundreds of their fellow students and hundreds of other residents in the community began wearing the shirts in protest. The shirts became a local, and then national symbol for the protection of female athletes from biological male inclusion in their sports and locker rooms. The ensuing controversy and media coverage of the situation has thrust the two teenage girls, their families and the whole town into the spotlight of the national debate over trans inclusion in women's sports, which became a hot-button political issue in the 2024 election year. And for Starling, Slavin and their classmates, it has come with a wave of attention that they have never experienced, both negative and positive. "I've had tons of people reach out to me and say 'thank you so much for what you're doing and standing up for these women,'" Starling said. "For my friends, a lot of my friends have been shoulder-checked because they were wearing the shirts and a lot of them have been cursed out and called really bad names, and they posted certain stuff on the internet calling people horrible names for wearing these shirts." Slavin, who says she's found stress relief in sports throughout her life, has only found more stress from sports because of the situation this year. "It's scary that that's not something that can always be a stress-relieving place if we're going to have all this going on," Slavin said. "It affects you mentally and emotionally… It's so hard to have this all going on." Starling says the trans athlete has been using the girls' restroom at the school, however, they haven't seen the athlete much in the locker room due to frequently missing practices. The two girls, and multiple parents who have spoken to Fox News Digital, allege the trans athlete was allowed to compete on varsity despite missing practice every week. Starling's father, Ryan Starling, previously told Fox News Digital that when his daughter and other girls approached the administrators about it, they were told "transgenders have more rights than cisgenders." The RUSD previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital insisting that its handling of the situation has been in accordance with California state law. The two girls then ignited a viral trend in their communities when they showed up to school in November wearing the "Save Girls Sports" shirts. And despite being scolded by school administrators for it and having to file a lawsuit, more and more students began to show up each week wearing the shirts, as the school had to alter its dress code and start placing students in detention for wearing them. This didn't stop the shirts from spreading and growing. It became a weekly ritual for hundreds of students every Wednesday to show up wearing the shirts support of the girls and their messaging, and many of them created viral social media posts on it. In early December, the school administrators gave up on their efforts to discipline students for wearing the shirts. Sources told Fox News Digital that more than 400 students have shown up wearing the shirts at a time, and students at other schools in the district have started to wear them to class. But Slavin, Starling their attorney Julianne Fleischer, said the school administrators have still told the two girls that they aren't allowed to wear the shirts, during the press conference on Friday. However, they also said more than 400 students at their school have continued to show up wearing the shirts every Wednesday. The situation culminated in a heated and confrontational event on Dec. 19, when the RUSD held a school board meeting to address the issue. Prior to the meeting, outside the district office, there were competing protests between activists and parents wearing the "Save Girls Sports" shirts and LGBTQ activists. Sources, including Ryan Starling, have told Fox News Digital that the LGBTQ activists at the event were harassing the "Save Girls Sports" protesters, and even disrupted a women's prayer group during a prayer circle prior to the meeting. "Members of the pro-LGBTQ groups started heckling and harassing the people in line who were speaking in opposition of their values. Some of these adult protesters were even coming up to the young girls that were going to be speaking and were yelling at them close to their face," Young Women for America (YWA)'s Inland Empire chapter President Tori Hitchcock told Fox News Digital. One anonymous parent told Fox News Digital about witnessing a child being bombarded with vulgar insults by pro-trans protesters after the meeting. "My 16-year old son and a few others were standing outside after speaking when a group of the LGBTQ community intentionally walked by them pointing at each one of them saying, 'FU FU FU,'" the anonymous parent said. Then, inside the meeting, parents and opposing activists gave impassioned speeches about their thoughts on the situation, with multiple speakers yelling in hysterical tones. The meeting went on for nearly five hours, and included testimony between individuals who opposed trans inclusion in girls' sports and those who supported it. Many of the pro-trans speeches were met with high-pitched cheers and the waiving of LGBTQ pride flags by those in attendance. The RUSD previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital insisting that its handling of the situation has been in accordance with California state law. "While these rules were not created by RUSD, the District is committed to complying with the law and CIF regulations. California state law prohibits discrimination of students based on gender, gender identity and gender expression, and specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in physical education and athletics. The protections we provide to all students are not only aligned with the law but also with our core values which include equity and well-being," the statement said. The RUSD also placed blame for its handling of the situation on officials in Washington D.C., and California's state capital, Sacramento. They made this statement back in early December, prior to President Donald Trump returning to office. "As these matters play out in our courts and the media, opposition and protests should be directed at those in a position to affect those laws and policies (including officials in Washington D.C. and Sacramento)," their statement read. Trump has pledged to ban trans athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports, as a federal bill titled The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act is currently progressing through congress. It has already passed in the House of Representatives. Until that bill is potentially signed into law, Slavin and Starling are asking their supporters to "pray" for them. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
