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A California high school girls’ volleyball playoff game on October 22 received national attention due to the presence of a transgender athlete. Two players from the opposing team who refused to take the field that evening came forward to talk about their decision.
Jurupa Valley High School, which had trans athlete AB Hernandez on its girls team, lost to Valencia High School in straight sets in front of a crowd of protesters brandishing “Save Girls Sports” gear. It marked the end of Jurupa’s controversial season, which was marred by at least 10 forfeits, and of Hernandez’s high school volleyball career.
The parents of two Valencia players who chose not to play that night provided a joint statement, written by both girls, to PK Press Club Digital on condition of anonymity.
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Fans wearing “Save Girls Sports” shirts pose during a CIF Southern Section women’s volleyball playoff game against Valencia, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Placentia, California. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
“On October 18, our team was informed that we would be playing against Jurupa Valley High School in the first round of CIF. During team selection, we quickly realized that they had a transgender player that we would be playing against on October 22. Ten other teams had already forfeited against Jurupa, which alarmed our team and caused us to consider whether or not we should play,” the statement begins.
“Because of our beliefs and values, we have decided not to attend our CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) first round match. We believe allowing men to participate in women’s sports is unfair, creates safety concerns, and goes against our faith. We value fair competition and integrity in volleyball, and our hope is to continue playing the sport we love without having to be in a position where we know the situation is bad.”
Both girls then cited their Christian faith as a reason for not playing and insisted their actions were not directly aimed at Hernandez.
“As Christians, our decision not to participate in this game was not difficult to make, but it was uncomfortable to be the only ones to do so. We chose not only not to play, but also not to attend the game, in order to show our position and our disagreement. Our goal was not to isolate AB Hernandez, but to express our belief that biological males should not participate in women’s sports,” the statement continued.
“Our decision was not made out of hatred or discrimination against anyone, but rather out of our belief in fairness and faith. We hope that the integrity of women’s sports will be honored and preserved.”
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The Oct. 22 match wasn’t even Hernandez’s first high school playoff volleyball match. Hernandez had competed for Jurupa Valley each of the last three years and also made the playoffs in 2024.
But national attention and controversy reached the team this year after Hernandez was thrust into the center of a political conflict between President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the end of the spring track and field season.
Hernandez ran to the girls’ state finals in the long jump, triple jump and high jump, prompting Trump to send a Truth Social message in the days leading up to the event, warning Newsom and the state not to allow a trans athlete to compete in the girls’ events. Trump signed an executive order banning schools from allowing biological males to play women’s sports in February, but the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has consistently defied him.
Instead, the CIF changed its rules to grant any female athlete who competed in the same events as Hernandez a place in the competition or a place higher on the medal podium if she finished behind a biological male athlete.
Hernández then took first place in the high jump and triple jump, as well as second place in the long jump.
The rule change allowed Hernandez to share podium spots with female athletes who finished behind the trans athlete in the state finals.
Then, shortly after this year’s volleyball season began, two of Jurupa Valley’s senior players, McPherson and Hadeel Hazameh, moved away of the team in protest against the trans athlete.
McPherson and Hazameh also filed a complaint against the Jurupa Unified School District, citing their experience playing and sharing a locker room with Hernandez over the previous three seasons. McPherson’s older sister and former JVHS girls volleyball player, Madison McPherson, is the third plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against CIF and the California Department of Education in July for refusing to change its transgender policies to comply with Trump’s executive order to “keep men out of women’s sports” weeks after Hernandez’s track and field championships.
And now that the fall sports season is coming to an end, Hernandez is still eligible to compete in another girls’ track and field season in the spring.
