High school year starts with team refusing to play against trans state champion
A California high school has refused to play against another volleyball team with trans athlete AB Hernandez. Welcome to the school year. The post High school year starts with team refusing to play against trans state champion appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Two months ago, trans athlete and California high school student AB Hernandez became a national story, winning two state high school championships in track and field and finishing second in a third event.
On August 15, an opposing high school volleyball team from Riverside Poly decided to forfeit rather than play Jurupa Valley because Hernandez was on the roster.
This could be an isolated incident, unlike what evolved last year with the college volleyball forfeit eruption across the Mountain West Conference. Jurupa Valley’s following opponent, Culver City, defeated the team, 3-0.
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The issue could also build. A different California school district, Kern County, voted to ban transgender girls from girl’s sports in violation of state law and CIF policy. There have been vocal critics calling for Jurupa Valley to do the same.
The issue has already followed Hernandez, as well as so many other trans girls in girls sports, for over a year.
In May, when Hernandez qualified for California’s high school state track and field championships, the U.S. Department of Education called for investigations of the state’s department of education and the California Interscholastic Federation, the state’s governing body for high schools sports.
In contrast, the Jurupa Valley City Council — her local community’s governing body — honored Hernandez this month for her success at the state meet.
Hernandez’s mother took to Instagram after the forfeit was announced.
“When we follow California law and school policies, especially those that protect the rights of ALL students, we are more than just rule-followers,” Nereyda Hernandez wrote. “We are respectful, inclusive, and principled citizens. Even when others choose to be a negative influence, we stand for fairness, dignity, and equality.”
The timing of this forfeit comes with the U.S. States Supreme Court set to hear arguments on two cases involving trans student-athlete bans. The trans-athlete bans in West Virginia and Idaho, both of which were overturned by lower federal courts, will be heard when session opens in October with a decision projected for next summer.
With schools returning to session nationwide in the weeks ahead, trans girls seeking to play for their school’s girls teams will still face different regulations in different places.
For Hernandez, she’ll still get to play, barring any further action within California’s legislature. Though how many matches will she and her team face this school year? That remains to be seen.
The only certainty is that the issue is far from settled and the debate is certain to continue.
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The post High school year starts with team refusing to play against trans state champion appeared first on Outsports.
