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The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Violence erupts over trans athlete AB Hernandez in California with supporter arrested for smashing car with Pride flag
VIOLENT protests have erupted in California after a trans athlete served a crushing defeat to female rivals at the state championship. AB Hernandez, 16, came first in the women's long jump and triple jump heats at the sporting event - in defiance of Donald Trump's executive order to ban trans athletes from women's sports. 4 4 4 4 She will compete today at the finals of the Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet. But a crowd of angry parents confronted her mother at the event to complain that a trans girl was competing against their daughters. It has now turned into a heated row with dozens of protestors carrying out demonstrations to 'save girls sports". Protesters 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. 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. More fiery protests are expected to take off as Hernandez prepares to take on her female rivals during the finals today. Yesterday, furious high school parents berated the mother of the trans athlete after her dominant victory. 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, from Jurupa Valley, California, 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".
USA Today
7 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump warns Newsom after California transgender athlete qualifies for state championship
Trump warns Newsom after California transgender athlete qualifies for state championship Show Caption Hide Caption Trump claims Putin has gone 'absolutely crazy' after attack on Ukraine President Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin has gone 'absolutely crazy' after his attack on Ukraine. WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump issued a warning to Gov. Gavin Newsom and threatened to cut off federal funds to California after a transgender high school athlete in California won qualifying track events over Memorial Day weekend. Trump said in a May 27 post on Truth Social he plans to speak later in the day with Newsom, whom he accused of "continuing to ILLEGALLY allow 'MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN'S SPORTS.'" Trump pointed to last week's California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet, where a transgender athlete won the girls' triple jump and long jump competitions to advance to the state finals set for May 30 and 31. "As a Male, he was a less than average competitor," Trump said. "As a Female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable. THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS." More: Ban on 'only two genders' shirt remains after Supreme Court declines case Trump added that "large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently" if an executive order he signed Feb. 5 seeking to bar transgender student athletes from playing women's sports is not followed. He did not specify which funding streams he would target. He also said he was "ordering local authorities" in California not to allow the transgender athlete to compete in this weekend's championship. More: Newsom suggests that it is 'unfair' for transgender athletes to compete in women's sports The situation in California has become a flashpoint in the Trump administration's efforts to target transgender athletes ‒ a wedge issue that Trump and other Republicans have pushed aggressively in recent elections. After the same high school athlete won a different triple jump competition on May 17, the second-place winner stood on the first-place podium following the awards ceremony. The moment drew loud cheers from many parents and other spectators in the crowd, a video taken at the event shows. More: Supreme Court sides with a lawmaker who made a controversial Facebook post about a trans athlete A spokeswoman for the California governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Newsom, a longtime Trump adversary and potential 2028 Democratic contender for president, broke from many progressive Democrats when he said allowing transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports is "deeply unfair" during a recent podcast interview with conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Trump's executive order aimed at "keeping men out of sports" directed the Department of Education to pursue "enforcement actions" under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in educational institutions, and adopt rules "clearly specifying and clarifying that women's sports are reserved for women." More: 'See you in court.' Trump, Maine governor clash in tense exchange at White House The U.S. Department of Education in April announced the formation of the 'Title IX Special Investigations Team' to review what the department called "a staggering volume of Title IX complaints" following Trump's order. Trump has butted heads with multiple Democratic governors over the implementation the order. In April, the Trump Justice Department sued Maine, alleging Title IX violations for refusing to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
