SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is expanding high school athletics championships to include more girls following controversy over transgender athletes in competition qualifications.
The California Interstate Federation has announced it will permit one additional competitor in three events involving junior AB Hernandez, a transgender student. The Temporary rules have been announced on Tuesday, following President Donald Trump’s criticisms of Hernandez’s participation on social media, prompting the group to modify the rules ahead of time.
Key points to know:
State law permits trans athletes to compete
In 2013, former California Governor Jerry Brown enacted legislation allowing students to engage in athletic programs and utilize facilities aligned with their gender identity.
Attempts by Republicans to overturn this law recently failed in a congress controlled by Democrats. Another unsuccessful proposal sought to impose a federal ban on students competing on girls’ teams based on their gender assigned at birth.
Bill Essayri, appointed by Trump as a judge in the Central District of California, initiated an investigation into the Yurupa Unified School District, which includes federal high schools along with Hernandez’s, to assess if trans girls violated federal sex discrimination laws by competing in girls’ sports.
The Commonwealth announces changes to rules
The federation is initiating a “pilot entry process” allowing more girls to participate in championship athletics events, specifically for the three events in which Hernandez competes: triple jump, long jump, and high jump.
The organization stated that “biological student athletes who achieved the next qualifying mark” are invited to compete in the championship at a recent qualifying event. This rule change could represent the first national attempt by high school sports governing bodies to broaden competition with the inclusion of trans athletes.
If a transgender athlete wins a medal, the federal body confirmed that their rankings would not displace “biological women” from medal standings. The “biological woman” who secures podium placements in high jumps, triple jumps, and long jumps will earn medals and the records will reflect this, according to the federation.
The federation did not clarify how to define “biological women” or the methods for verifying competitors’ compliance with that definition.
Experts from the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Psychological Association contend that gender should be viewed as a spectrum, rather than a binary classification of male and female.
Backlash focuses on one student
Hernandez successfully won both the long jump and triple jump in the qualifying event, and she is poised to perform well this weekend. Earlier this year, she also set a triple jump record at the Ontario Relay.
Critics allege that she has an unfair advantage over her competitors.
In a conversation with Capital & Main earlier this month, Hernandez expressed her determination to focus on her performance rather than the critics who challenged her during the postseason tournament.
“I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and behaving like a child shows how you’re like a person,” she remarked.
She pointed out that she has also experienced losses in some events, countering the notion that she is unbeatable.
Changes to rules invite criticism
Elana Redfield, policy director at the UCLA Law Williams Institute, which focuses on sexual orientation and gender identity policy, indicated that the new rules could discriminate against transgender athletes.
“The CIF policy creates two sets of rules: one for transgender girls, who acquire entry through non-traditional competitive measures, and another for ‘biological women,’ who may secure spots,” Redfield stated in an email.
The alteration appears to be “treading a fine line” by ensuring cisgender girls aren’t excluded from competition slots while still allowing trans athletes to participate, Redfield observed.
Durian Lamberet Coleman, a professor at Dew Kraw School, expressed that these changes would help guarantee that female athletes aren’t overshadowed in teams and competitions that include trans girls.
“Rather than an inclusion policy that overlooks gender differences, this approach doesn’t mislead other girls about biology,” Coleman mentioned.
Izzy Gurdon, a spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom, characterized the rule change as “a reasonable and respectful way to navigate complex issues without compromising competitive fairness,” and noted that the governor deemed it a thoughtful solution. Newsom has also questioned the fairness of a transgender girl competing in women’s sports.
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San Francisco Associated Press Writer Janie Har contributed to this report.
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Austin is a regional member of the Associated Press/Report’s American State University News Initiative. American Report is a non-profit, national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to address critical issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophiedanna
Source: apnews.com