A girls' track meet in California was turned into a political rally on Saturday amid a growing controversy over a trans athlete who has dominated in the girls' high-jump, long-jump and triple-jump this season.
The rally came less than two days after three of the state's esteemed Christian high schools sent a letter to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) challenging its longstanding policy that allows biological males in girls' sports.
JSerra Catholic High School, Orange Lutheran High School and Crean Lutheran High School sent a joint letter to the CIF Thursday, referencing the trans athlete who competed in Saturday's state semifinal prelims.
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"For young women, CIF’s Gender Identity Policy means lost opportunities and an unlevel playing field. The consequences of this Policy will be felt this weekend as CIF’s state semi-final competitions for track and field events take place. Star female athletes, some of whom attend our schools, will soon compete in multiple track and field events against a male athlete who self-identifies as a female," the letter read.
"CIF’s Gender Identity Policy also fosters an environment that is increasingly hostile to religious member schools. CIF’s expectation that all faith-based schools facilitate the CIF Gender Identity Policy puts religious schools in the untenable position of adhering to the tenets of their faith in their classrooms and communities but practicing something contrary to their faith on their athletic fields."
The letter went on to suggest that some of the female athletes competing for the three Christian schools considered not competing against the trans athlete in Saturday's semifinal prelims.
And then prior to Saturday's meet at Yorba Linda High School, multiple girls' athletes, parents and school officials spoke at a press conference organized by California Family Council outreach director Sophia Lorey.
"No matter how hard we train, how many hours we put in, reality will always set in that men and women are different," said Olivia Viola of Crean Lutheran. "To me, this just doesn't seem fair. CIF is doing nothing to protect us female athletes."
The CIF is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for allowing trans athletes to compete in girls' sports, and potential Title IX violations.
California was one of the first states to openly defy President Donald Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order after he signed it on Feb. 5.
"The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences in compliance with California law [Education Code section 221.5. (f)] which permits students to participate in school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with the student’s gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the student’s records," the CIF previously said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said during an episode of his podcast that he believes trans athletes competing with girls is "deeply unfair." But the governor still justified policies that enable it for the sake of empathy for the trans community.
The state has seen multiple controversies erupt over the past year regarding the issue, and many other residents and even some schools are taking stands against the state officials enforcing the inclusion policies.
The Redlands Unified school board in San Bernardino voted in late April to adopt a new policy that would keep transgender athletes out of girls’ sports.
A bipartisan survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found that the majority of California residents oppose biological male trans athletes competing in women's sports.
That figure included more than 70% of the state's school parents.
"Most Californians support requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching the sex they were assigned at birth," the poll stated.
"Solid majorities of adults (65%) and likely voters (64%) support requiring that transgender athletes compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with. An overwhelming majority of public school parents (71%) support such a requirement."
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