Martin Luther King Jr. High School, Riverside, California, Addressed a controversy. Adding a transgender athlete to his cross country team and being sued by two girls on the team who alleged that their “Save Women’s Sports” T-shirts were compared to a swastika by school administrators is
The school has faced criticism locally from its students and nationally from women’s athletic activists, including Riley Gaines and Jennifer C.
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) says it allowed the transgender athlete to compete on the team because it must comply with California state law. The school said those concerned should take their anger to state and federal lawmakers.
“As these cases play out in our courts and media, opposition and protests must be in a position to influence these laws and policies, including by officials in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento,” the statement said. I have been told.
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The statement also cited language in the California Education Code, California Code of Regulations and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) bylaws, all of which outline protections for transgender athletes in public schools.
“It is important to remember that RUSD is obligated to follow California law requiring that students be allowed to ‘participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and its gender. Matches according to identity, regardless of the gender of the list, on the student’s record,” the statement said.
“Although these rules were not created by RUSD, the district is committed to complying with the law and CIF regulations. California state law prohibits discrimination against students based on gender, gender identity and gender expression. and specifically prohibits discrimination based on gender. The protections we provide to all students are not only with the law, but also with our core values, including equality And well-being included.”
RUSD’s statement did not address the controversy over the “Save Women’s Sports” T-shirts.
California has had state laws protecting transgender athletes in women’s sports since 2014. this year, AB 1266 enacted.giving California students the right to “participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, at the academic and college levels, and regardless of the gender listed on the student’s record.” Using the facilities according to the identity.
And Martin Luther King High School isn’t the first public institution to blame Democrat-authored state laws for controversial student-athletes sharing seats with transgender athletes.
The University of Nevada, Reno dealt with a controversy with its women’s volleyball players in October, after the athletes’ request to forfeit a match against a team with a transgender athlete was initially denied by administration.
The players made public statements about their intention to forfeit the match and held a press conference where they accused the university of trying to pressure them to play. Team captain Sia Lilly alleged that athletic department officials told the players that they “didn’t understand the science” of facing a transgender athlete.
The university provided a statement to Fox News Digital, outlining that it cannot honor a player’s wishes to forfeit a match without violating Nevada state law. The state constitution was revised in 2022 when Nevada voted to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender identity to the list of protections.
Nevada state Sen. Pete Spearman, a Democrat from North Las Vegas who co-sponsored the bill to the ballot, said the law has helped transgender people maintain their identity.
“As a state university, sequestration for reasons related to gender identity or expression may constitute discrimination and violate the Nevada Constitution,” the university’s statement added.
The university abandoned the match a day before the scheduled time due to not having enough players for the competition.
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California and Nevada aren’t the only states that have faced controversy in the past year over public school girls not facing a transgender adversary.
Even in states with laws restricting transgender participation, such cases have occurred due to rulings by liberal judges. New Hampshire and Virginia, both states with such laws, take effect in 2024.
Judges Landia McCafferty of New Hampshire and M. Hannah Locke of Virginia, both appointed during the Obama administration, each issued rulings this year barring biological males from playing on high school girls’ soccer and tennis teams. Made playable. McCafferty issued an order allowing two transgender athletes to compete in New Hampshire, while Locke ruled that an 11-year-old transgender tennis player was allowed to compete against girls of the same age in Virginia. .
The Biden administration issued a sweeping rule clarifying that Title IX’s ban on “sex” discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and “pregnancy or related conditions” in April. The administration insisted that the code did not address athletic ability. However, more than one expert Evidence presented told Fox News Digital in June that it would eventually put more biological men in women’s sports.
RUSD’s message on Friday provided the district with an opportunity to remind the public that it is at the mercy of the Democratic establishment on this issue.
Yet students have fought back.
California Family Council Outreach Director Sophia Lowry revealed that more than 150 students have worn the T-shirts to school since the controversy began and alleged that students who refused to comply with the new dress code were escorted to the principal’s office. I was forced to spend hours. Lowry says those students plan to continue doing this on a regular basis despite their school’s new rule.
“I got those numbers directly from the parents involved,” Lowry told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “After that I got word on social media that the students plan to continue doing this every Wednesday.”
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