California high school volleyball team forfeits game against trans athlete

A California high school girls volleyball team forfeited a match against a team believed to include a biological male trans athlete Friday night. 

Riverside Poly High School in Riverside County, California, announced its forfeit against Jurupa Valley High School in a statement. 

“Riverside Poly High School’s girls volleyball team will not take the court for tonight’s scheduled game against Jurupa Valley High School,” the statement said. 

“This match will be recorded as a forfeit in non-league standings. We understand this is disappointing for our athletes, families and supporters, and we appreciate the community’s understanding. We remain committed to providing a safe, positive environment for all student-athletes throughout the season.”

No reason for the forfeit was provided in the statement. 

Amanda Vickers, a member of the Riverside Unified School District board, told Fox News Digital she believes the forfeit is in response to Jurupa Valley including trans athlete AB Hernandez on its roster. Hernandez was listed on Jurupa Valley’s roster last season and is believed to be on the roster again this year. 

“I do believe it is because they are playing AB Hernandez, and that a decision was made that the students didn’t want to,” Vickers said. “I did get a message yesterday that there [were] parents [of players] that were wearing ‘Save Girls Sports’ shirts. So they were kind of prepared for a protest today.” 

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Vickers added she believes the forfeit was significant for the sake of the safety of the female athletes, referencing former high school volleyball player Payton McNabb, who suffered permanent brain damage when she was struck in the head with a spike from a trans athlete in 2022. 

“What this is about is there is a difference between biological girls and biological boys. And, tonight, the girls of Riverside Polly High School, they’re not going to end up like Payton McNabb,” Vickers said. 

Jurupa Unified School District provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the forfeit.

“We were notified that Riverside Poly High School canceled today’s scheduled girls volleyball match with Jurupa Valley High School. They did not disclose the reason. We have no additional comment at this time,” the statement said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Jurupa Valley High School head volleyball coach Liana Manu and Hernandez’s mother for a response. 

Riverside became a hotbed of controversy involving trans athletes in girls sports last year during Hernandez’s highly-publicized season and after a lawsuit was filed by two girls at Martin Luther King High School that alleged a trans athlete took one of the girls’ varsity spots on the cross-country team. The students at the school then began wearing the “Save Girls Sports” T-shirts every week in response after school administrators allegedly compared the shirts to swastikas, according to the lawsuit. 

Hernandez was the focus of a national media firestorm in May during the athlete’s run to a California girls track and field championship. The postseason meets that Hernandez competed in were met with protests by female athletes and their families who often wore the “Save Girls Sports” shirts.

Hernandez’s run seemingly drew a response from President Donald Trump, who posted a Truth Social message this week leading up to the state final suggesting the state not allow the trans athlete to compete. Hernandez won the championship in the girls high jump and triple jump at a meet that saw an LGBTQ protester arrested for allegedly assaulting a conservative activist and a plane flying overhead with a banner that said “No boys in girls’ sports.” 

The U.S. Department of Justice then filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education (CDE) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) for its policies that have allowed biological males to compete in girls sports across the state despite Trump signing an executive order in February to prohibit it. 

Hernandez was honored by state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes at the Jurupa City Council Aug. 7. Cervantes was present to give Hernandez two certificates on behalf of the California state senate and delivered a speech recognizing the athlete’s championships. 

A bipartisan survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found a majority of California residents oppose biological male trans athletes competing in women’s sports. 

That figure included more than 70% of the state’s school parents.

“Most Californians support requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching the sex they were assigned at birth,” the poll stated. 

“Solid majorities of adults (65%) and likely voters (64%) support requiring that transgender athletes compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with. An overwhelming majority of public school parents (71%) support such a requirement.”

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