‘That’s not equality, that’s injustice.’ Students, parents, activists stand up for fairness after male dominates girls’ track meet

Indignant students, parents and community members rallied at a press conference outside a track meet on Saturday to speak out against the injustice female competitors faced after being dominated by a biological male.

The male athlete, who goes by AB Hernandez, beat out three female athletes for victories in the long jump, high jump, and triple jump, landing himself a spot in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) finals, Fox News reports.

“No matter how hard we train, how many hours we put in, reality will always set in that men and women are different,” said Olivia Viola, a student at Crean Lutheran. “To me, this just doesn’t seem fair. CIF is doing nothing to protect us female athletes.” 

Sophia Lorey, outreach director for California Family Council and organizer of the press conference, called the situation “heartbreaking” in an exclusive comment to The Lion.  

“This isn’t inclusion, it’s the erasure of girls in sports,” Lorey stated. “These girls train hard and dream big, only to be told that their place can be taken by someone who’s biologically male. I’ve heard some of them were in tears. That’s not equality, that’s injustice.” 

Despite the frustration and disappointment the female athletes experienced, however, Lorey added that she witnessed something “amazing” at the meet: the girls themselves taking a public stand, despite how controversial such a move could be in hyper-progressive California. 

“I saw so many athletes proudly wearing ‘Protect Girls’ Sports’ shirts, a bold and beautiful statement that the tide is turning in California,” Lorey recalled. “Courage is contagious, and these young women are leading the way.”  

As female students fight to keep boys out of their athletics, the state’s schools still find themselves obligated to uphold the rules that allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports 

Two California high schools, Truckee and North Tahoe, claim they can no longer compete in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) without violating California sex discrimination laws given that the neighboring state separates sports by biological sex. 

“We are a California school district, and so we must adhere to California state law,” Amber Burke, a spokesperson for Truckee Schools, told the media. “It is related to the recent NIAA policy changes regarding student-athlete eligibility based on biological sex. That conflicts with California laws.” 

Notably, California is one of several states across the country to continue requiring schools to allow trans-identifying students to compete on the sports team of their choice despite an executive order from the Trump administration banning such policies for recipients of federal funds.