The California State Athletics Championships finds itself in the middle of a storm after US President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding for the state over the participation of a transgender athlete in the high school girls' event. Clovis, the venue of the state meet, is slowly turning into a battleground, with the police being forced to step in to prevent any untoward incidents.
Male AB Hernandez is dominating GIRLS CA Track and Field Championships@CIFState is allowing this to happen.
— Sophia Lorey (@SophiaSLorey) May 31, 2025
Join the 13,000+ who have signed the petition https://t.co/v4RV1gzpKb urging CIF to follow title IX
He is the top qualifier for high jump & long jump. Currently the… pic.twitter.com/yaq46uhjzZ
The athlete in question is AB Hernandez, a 16-year-old student who was born a boy but became a girl clinically. Hernandez, representing the Jurupa Valley High School, reportedly is the clear favourite in the long jump and the triple jump events. The youngster is also competing in the high jump event, making it a closely fought affair.
What is the AB Hernandez controversy in Califorina?
However, the parents of other girls participating in the events are unhappy with the development, arguing that Hernandez is physically male and not a woman. They claim this gives her an unfair advantage over the other competitors. Protests are intensifying, and some activist groups even went so far as to hire an aeroplane to fly a banner over the Buchanan High School's Veterans Memorial Stadium during Hernandez’s competition that read, “No boys in girls’ sports.”
The gaslighting and silencing of girls continues.
— Beth Bourne (@bourne_beth2345) May 11, 2025
Yesterday at the California CIF Southern Section Prelims, a trans-identified boy, Ab Hernandez from Jurupa Valley High School, took away state qualifying spots from 3 different girls.
Hernandez placed 3rd in the girls’ long… pic.twitter.com/SVstqHMReB
According to Sky News, a video of Hernandez's mother being harangued by mothers of girls pitted against her had gone viral on the internet. Pro-LGBTQI groups are also showing up at the stadiums to support AB Hernandez, the report added. However, they are numerically inferior to the group that wants her banned from participating in the girl's events.
Donald Trump and LGBTQ+ rights in US
This is a criticism of the adults who pretend to believe that AB Hernandez -- and all the others like him -- is a girl.
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) May 18, 2025
You do this confused adolescent a tremendous disservice to pretend that boys can magically become girls if they just want it bad enough.
Literally no one… pic.twitter.com/JbpLjijglN
The Trump Presidency is also in the mix of things. On expected lines, the POTUS, who campaigned with a promise to "kick out men from women's sport", has warned California of repercussions if Hernandez is allowed to contest with girls in the state meet. "As a Male, he was a less than average competitor. As a Female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable," the US President, who signed an executive order seeking to ban transgender women from fighting events for women, said in a social media post.
