Teammate of Transgender High School Volleyball Player: ‘Unfair’ Teams Keep Forfeiting

A teammate of transgender volleyball player AB Hernandez said that other schools’ forfeiting matches is beginning to take its toll on her.

AB Hernandez, a boy living as a girl, has been stirring controversy after serving on the track and field team at Jurupa Valley High School this past spring, and the controversy continued after joining the school’s girls’ volleyball team. Since then, several other schools have been forfeiting matches in protest; teammate Alyssa McPherson told Fox News that the constant stream of forfeits has been destroying her senior year.

“I just feel like it’s so unfair that not only am I missing out on my senior season, but my other teammates, our JV team, and our freshmen team aren’t playing either,” McPherson said. “And it’s just so disheartening that they’re not gonna have a season and we just want to be able to compete, play, and have fun.”

“To me, I feel like this is just a fairness issue,” she continued. “I just want to be able to compete and play and have fun in my last year. I feel like I got robbed of that. I’ve been looking forward to it since my freshman year, and I don’t have the opportunity to do that this year. It’s just so sad.”

Maribel Munoz, McPherson’s mother, said the school keeps ignoring the problem.

“I’ve complained multiple times to the administration and they just disregard our feelings, our position, really,” Munoz said. “I think they just focus more on one particular student versus the many. And that’s why we’re here. We want the awareness of my daughter and the multiple other girls that are missing out on this opportunity.”

“The safety issue – she doesn’t see it so far as that because she plays at a high competitive level as well,” Munoz added. “She plays on a volleyball club team. She’s used to a higher caliber. So, she doesn’t see it as a safety (issue) in that aspect. It’s the unfairness and the injustice that we’re being dealt with right now.”

Jurupa Valley addressed the forfeits, saying that the school must comply with the law.

“We understand and acknowledge the disappointment of our Jurupa Valley High School athletes who are ready and prepared to play. Decisions to cancel matches were made by teams in other districts,” the statement read. “As a public school district in California, JUSD is compelled to follow the law, which protects students from discrimination based on gender identity and requires that students be permitted to participate on athletic teams that are consistent with their gender identity (California Education Code 221.5 (f)).”

“This is consistent with the guidance provided by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond,” it continued. “We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride. We are currently working to find additional matches to give them that opportunity.”

 

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