Trans athlete political debate returns to CA high school track championships
As the California high school track and field championships return to Clovis, attention surrounding a transgender student-athlete is resurging as well.
Conservative elected officials, and a gubernatorial candidate, along with supporters numbering two to three dozen gathered outside Veterans Memorial Stadium prior to the competition beginning Friday afternoon for a “Save girls sports” news conference to protest biological males competing in girls sports as trans athletes.
While addressing attendees, Clovis Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce said it was upon voters to send a message and that she agreed with President Donald Trump’s threat to pull federal funding from the state over the inclusion of trans athletes in California.
“We know that Sacramento won’t stop until you make it too painful to continue,” Pearce said.
After the news conference, gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, who did not speak during the news conference, said he would take a stand against transgender girls competing against cisgender girls in athletics, which he called a “fringe ideology.”
The scene Friday was similar to last year when groups gathered outside the venue during the meet both in support and against transgender athletes.
While the protesters were directly in front of Veteran’s Memorial Stadium last year, the section was blocked off this year, and protesters gathered on a grassy area across the street.
While a large group lingered with signs last year, this year’s group was much smaller and dissipated more quickly.
Last year, a 19-year-old was arrested following a confrontation with a protestor opposing the transgender athlete’s participation. The 19-year-old man allegedly exited his vehicle and confronted the protestor before a physical altercation ensued, which resulted in the protestor pepper-spraying the alleged attacker.
Trump discussed the controversy last year, threatening to withhold federal funding if the state didn’t adhere to his executive order, titled “Keeping men out of women’s sports.”
The U.S. Department of Justice followed by probing California’s rules on transgender athletes.
In response to the wave of backlash, the CIF announced it would roll out a new system in which any cisgender girl who failed to qualify because of a transgender athlete would still be allowed to compete in the championship.
“Additionally, any cisgender female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event,” CIF spokesperson Rebecca Brutlag said.
Brutlag confirmed the same rules will be in place this year.
Last year, the student-athlete at the heart of the controversy walked away with two gold medals.
