[Clown show...] California track-and-field championships draw limited protest over trans student's participation

https://ktla.com/news/ap-us-news/ap-california-track-and-field-
championships-draw-limited-protest-over-trans-students-participation/

CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) — A transgender teen will compete in the California 
high school track-and-field finals on Saturday, one day after advancing in 
the competition as a protest plane circled about the meet that has drawn 
national attention, including criticism from President Donald Trump.

AB Hernandez — a trans student who on Friday advanced in the girls high 
jump, long jump and triple jump — will be in the finals Saturday, 
competing under a new rule change that may be the first of its kind 
nationally by a high school sports governing body.

The new California Interscholastic Federation announced the new policy 
earlier this week in response to Hernandez’s success. According to the 
policy, the federation will let an additional student compete and medal in 
the events where Hernandez qualified.

The two-day championship kicked off in the sweltering heat at high school 
near Fresno. The atmosphere was relatively quiet Friday despite critics — 
including parents, conservative activists and Trump — calling for 
Hernandez to be barred from girls competition leading up to the meet.

There was some pushback Friday. A group of fewer than 10 people gathered 
outside the stadium ahead of the meet to protest Hernandez’s 
participation. Some of them wore “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirts. At one 
point as Hernandez was attempting a high jump, someone in the stands 
yelled an insult.

An aircraft circled above the stadium for more than an hour during the 
events, carrying a banner that read, “No Boys in Girls’ Sports!” Two 
groups, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports and Women Are Real, that 
oppose transgender athletes participating in women’s sports took credit 
for flying the banner.

Separately, one person was arrested outside the competition on Friday 
after getting in a confrontation with another protester that turned 
physical, according to the Clovis Police Department.

The rest of the night ran smoothly for Hernandez, who finished the triple 
jump with a mark close to 41 feet (13 meters), nearly 10 inches (25 
centimeters) ahead of her closest competitor, San Francisco Bay Area 
junior Kira Gant Hatcher.

Hernandez also led in the long jump with a mark close to 20 feet (6 
meters) to advance to the final. She advanced in the high jump, clearing 5 
feet, 5 inches (1.7 meters) with ease.

She did not address the press.

California at center of national debate
The federation’s rule change reflects efforts to find a middle ground in 
the debate over trans girls’ participation in youth sports.

“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold 
our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, 
and compete while complying with California law,” the group said in a 
statement after announcing its rule change.

A recent AP-NORC poll found that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults think 
transgender female athletes should not be allowed to participate in girls 
and women’s sports at the high school, college or professional level. That 
view was shared by about 9 in 10 Republicans and roughly half of 
Democrats.

The federation announced the rule change after Trump threatened this week 
to pull federal funding from California unless it bars trans female 
athletes from competing on girls teams. The federation said it decided on 
the change before then.

The U.S. Department of Justice also said it would investigate the state 
federation and the district that includes Hernandez’s high school to 
determine whether they violated federal sex discrimination law by allowing 
trans girls to compete in girls sports.

Some California Republicans also weighed in, with several state lawmakers 
attending a news conference to criticize the federation for keeping 
Hernandez in the competition and a Republican gubernatorial candidate 
planning to attend Saturday’s finals.

California law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports 
teams consistent with their gender identity.

The federation said the rule would open the field to more “biological 
female” athletes. One expert said the change may itself be discriminatory 
because it creates an extra spot for “biological female” athletes but not 
for other trans athletes.

The federation did not specify how they define “biological female” or how 
they would verify whether a competitor meets that definition.

Hernandez told the publication Capital & Main earlier this month that she 
couldn’t worry about critics.

“I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows 
how you are as a person,” she said.

Another student breaks a record
California’s state championship stands out from that of other states 
because of the number of competitors athletes are up against to qualify. 
The state had the second-largest number of students participating in 
outdoor track and field in the nation during the 2023-2024 school year, 
behind Texas, according to a survey by the National Federation of State 
High School Associations.

Olympians Marion Jones and Tara Davis-Woodhall previously set state 
championship records in the long jump in 1993 and 2017, respectively, both 
surpassing 22 feet (6.7 meters).

The boys 100-meter dash heats were also a highlight Friday. Junior Jaden 
Jefferson of De La Salle High School in Concord finished in 10.01 seconds, 
about 0.2 seconds faster than a meet record set in 2023. Jefferson’s time 
won’t count as a record unless he can replicate his results in the final.


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.

Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama 
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.