Mom of trans child breaks silence after girls’ volleyball team forfeited, refusing to play against her.
A high school volleyball match in California has sparked widespread debate after one team chose not to compete because a transgender athlete was expected to play on the opposing side.
The situation has drawn attention from parents, school officials, political figures, and advocates across the country, highlighting the growing national conversation about transgender participation in youth sports.
The controversy centers on a scheduled match between Jurupa Valley High School and Riverside Polytechnic High School, which was set to take place on August 15.
Jurupa Valley’s girls’ volleyball team includes transgender athlete AB Hernandez, whose participation has previously drawn both support and criticism from different parts of the community.
Rather than playing the match, Riverside Poly officials ultimately decided to forfeit the game entirely.
In a statement released after the decision, school representatives acknowledged that canceling the match was disappointing for student-athletes on both sides.
However, they said the move was intended to maintain what they described as a “safe, positive environment for all student-athletes.”
The statement did not initially mention Hernandez directly, but it quickly became clear that the decision was linked to her participation on the opposing team.
Parents speaking with local media outlets later confirmed that the forfeit was specifically related to the presence of the transgender athlete.
According to several reports, the decision did not come from the teenage players themselves but instead was made by school administrators.
Some families expressed frustration that students who had trained for the match lost the opportunity to compete due to a decision made at the administrative level.
The issue gained further attention when Amanda Vickers, a member of the Riverside school board, publicly supported the decision during an interview with Fox News Digital.
Vickers referenced a previous sports injury involving Payton McNabb, a North Carolina volleyball player who was reportedly injured during a 2022 match against a transgender opponent.
During the interview, Vickers stated, “Tonight, the girls of Riverside Poly High School, they’re not going to end up like Payton McNabb.”
Her remarks quickly circulated online and drew strong reactions from both supporters and critics.
While some individuals agreed with her concerns about safety in girls’ sports, others argued that the comparison unfairly targeted Hernandez and contributed to an already tense atmosphere surrounding the issue.
Hernandez’s mother responded strongly to the comments, saying that school leaders have a responsibility to protect every student.
Speaking to reporters, she criticized the remarks and the broader narrative surrounding her daughter.
“As a board member, you have a duty to safeguard all children, not just those who align with your beliefs,” she said. “My daughter isn’t the issue.
The real problem lies with outside groups exploiting fear and religion to turn parents against one another.”
She continued by emphasizing that, in her view, the debate has moved beyond questions of athletic fairness and has instead become part of a larger effort to exclude transgender youth from public life.
“This isn’t about fairness in sports,” she said. “It’s entirely about erasing transgender children.”
For AB Hernandez, the recent volleyball controversy is not the first time she has faced hostility while competing.
Earlier this year, she participated in a track meet in Yorba Linda where roughly thirty adults gathered nearby and began heckling during the event.
According to witnesses, some of those present included local school board members and community activists. The noise and disruption reportedly became so intense that it even caused a false start during one of the races.
In an interview with CBS News Los Angeles, Hernandez spoke about how the public attention has affected her experience as a student-athlete.
“People only see one aspect of me, and that’s how they define me,” she said. “They believe I’m this crazy threat to society. I’m just a regular kid attending school and participating in sports.”
At other competitions, tensions have also appeared in the form of protests. Some spectators have attended postseason events wearing shirts with slogans such as “Save Girls Sports.”
School officials in certain districts have expressed concern that such messages can contribute to an environment where transgender students feel singled out or unwelcome.
The situation has also moved beyond local school communities and entered the national political arena.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in on the issue through posts on his platform Truth Social.
In his comments, he warned that federal funding could potentially be withdrawn from California schools that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
His administration has also taken legal action related to the broader issue.
Earlier this summer, officials launched a lawsuit against California authorities, arguing that current state regulations permitting transgender athletes to participate according to their gender identity are unfair to female competitors.
Supporters of transgender participation argue that inclusion policies help ensure that all students have access to the same opportunities, including sports, which can provide important physical, social, and emotional benefits.
Meanwhile, critics maintain that the rules should prioritize competitive fairness and safety in girls’ athletics.
For the Hernandez family, the intense political and public debate has made an already difficult situation even more complicated.
Hernandez’s mother says the attention surrounding the issue has placed a heavy emotional burden on her daughter, who simply wants to attend school and compete alongside her teammates.
“My daughter has the right to play, just like every other child,” she said.
Despite the ongoing controversy and Riverside Poly’s recent forfeit, the family says they plan to continue supporting Hernandez’s participation in school athletics.
They believe that, regardless of political debates or public criticism, every student deserves the chance to participate in sports and pursue their interests without fear of exclusion.
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As discussions about transgender athletes continue across the United States, cases like this one illustrate how deeply the issue affects local communities, families, and young people themselves.
What began as a single high school volleyball match has now become part of a much larger national conversation about inclusion, fairness, and the role of sports in society.
