Warning: This article discusses discrimination against the trans community, which some readers may find distressing.
The mother of a transgender athlete has criticized California school officials for allegedly allowing harassment against her child after an opposing school refused to participate in a volleyball game.
AB Hernandez, a player for the Jurupa Valley High School volleyball team, was scheduled to compete against Riverside Poly High School’s girls’ team last Friday (August 15).
However, the game was canceled, and Riverside Poly later released an official statement saying, “We understand this is disappointing for our athletes, families and supporters, and we appreciate the community’s understanding,” it read.
“We remain committed to providing a safe, positive environment for all student-athletes throughout the season.”
Several parents informed Fox Digital that the game was forfeited due to the presence of Hernandez, a transgender athlete, on the team, and that it was the adults, not the players, who made the decision.
Amanda Vickers, a member of the Riverside Unified School District board, told the outlet: “Tonight, the girls of Riverside Polly High School, they’re not going to end up like Payton McNabb.”
Vickers referenced a former high school volleyball player who experienced permanent brain damage after being hit in the head by a spike from a trans athlete in 2022.
Following the canceled game and Vickers’ comments, local parents attended a Riverside Unified School District board meeting on Thursday (August 21).
Some parents reportedly defended the decision to forfeit the match and criticized the school district’s stance on gender politics, according to the New York Post.
Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda, was present at the meeting. She expressed that she believed her daughter was ‘not the problem’.
She also criticized Vickers’ comments, asserting that they ‘encouraged harassment’ against her child by discussing the situation with Fox News Digital.
“You are a board member. You have an oath to protect, to support all children, not just the ones that fit your ideas, your beliefs,” she continued.
“My daughter is not the problem. The problem is coordinated external efforts often led by individuals that travel from district to district … to spread fear and put parents against each other using religion as a shield for discrimination.
“This has nothing to do with fairness in sports and everything to do with erasing transgender children,” she added.
The Riverside Poly boycott of Hernandez and the Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball team comes after an earlier event where Hernandez faced heckling at a track meet.
According to Capital and Main, during a competition at Yorba Linda High School in May, 30 adults, including three local school board members, continually shouted at the teenager.
At one point, the loud noise allegedly caused a false start in a race.
Discussing her experience, Hernandez told the publication: “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.”
As reported by the New York Post, postseason meets that Hernandez participated in have seen protests from female athletes and their families against her inclusion.
The protestors often wore ‘Save Girls Sports’ T-shirts, which have reportedly been compared to swastikas by school officials, according to a lawsuit.
Former US President Donald Trump, age 79, made a slight comment on the recent controversy in California in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
On Thursday, he wrote: “Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our Transgender policies, will not be funded. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
This threat is part of his ongoing opposition to transgender rights, including a lawsuit filed against the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in July over their policy allowing transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
The Trump administration argued that the policy violated federal anti-discrimination laws, according to NBC News.
The lawsuit came despite Trump signing a directive in February to withdraw federal funding from any school that permits transgender women or girls to compete in female sports.
“It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy,” the legislation read.
“It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
Trump claimed that signing the order marked the end of ‘the war on women’s sports’.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone confidentially, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.