Transgender athlete AB Hernandez advances to 3 CIF State track finals amid minor protest
Transgender athlete AB Hernandez advances to 3 CIF State track finals amid minor protest
CLOVIS — A small group of roughly 15 people held a demonstration outside of Veteran’s Memorial Stadium for the second day in a row to protest the participation of Jurupa Valley trans student-athlete AB Hernandez’s participation in the CIF State track and field championships.
Drivers passing by honked horns and waved in support of the group.
Two protesters wore shirts with the acronym “CIF” spelled out as “can’t identify females.”
“I’m a gay woman and I’ve been called you name it,” said Marcy Strange, who wore one of the shirts. “I don’t care. What I do care about is protecting all children, including the transgender kids, because they’re being sold a bill of goods that physically harms them.”
There was no evidence of a pro-trans group openly protesting in opposition. Some social media accounts had encouraged supporters to purchase a ticket for the track meet and cheer on Hernandez.
The day before, a plane had flown overhead with a banner trailing behind that said “NO BOYS IN GIRLS’ SPORTS!”
The banner was organized and funded by grassroots coalition Women Are Real, a group that’s in favor of single-sex athletic competition.
“The action is a direct protest against the California Interscholastic Federation’s policy of allowing male athletes to compete in the girls’ division, displacing female athletes and undermining the integrity of women’s sports,” Women Are Real said in a press release.
Aside from the banner, Women Are Real did not have a physical presence at the track meet Friday or Saturday.
Meanwhile, inside of the stadium, Hernandez chatted and laughed with other jumpers as she waited for her flight to compete in the triple jump – her final event of the day.
She had already qualified for the high jump and long jump finals, recording top marks out of all competitors in each event. She went on to do the same in triple jump and needed only one jump of 40 feet, 9¾ inches to qualify for Saturday’s finals.
The CIF introduced a new rule that would allow an extra competitor who would have been displaced by Hernandez to advance out of the prelims and into the finals.
Bishop O’Dowd’s Daia Sanders moved on in triple jump as a result, as well as Shasta’s Jaiden Lynn in high jump and River City’s Brooke White in long jump.
The finals of the CIF State track and field championships were scheduled for Saturday evening. If Hernandez wins a medal in any of her three events, an additional medal will be given to the biological female who would have had that placement in the event.
Both student-athletes will receive the same number of points in the overall team scoring.
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