This story was originally published by KVPR.
CLOVIS, Calif. – A transgender female high school athlete has advanced to California’s CIF Track and Field Championship finals this year, amid heavy controversy over her participation in the events.
AB Hernandez from Jurupa Valley High School competed Friday in Clovis in the triple jump, high jump and long jump events – and came first in all three, according to the scores from the qualifying events.
She will advance to the finals being held Saturday.
But as she competed for the finals, protesters gathered at the corner of the Buchanan High campus at Minnewawa and Nees avenues and held signs criticizing her, the state, the California Interscholastic Federation.
California’s track and field championships drew national attention and reignited the debate over transgender females in women’s sports. Local officials just a day before also called for the transgender female athlete to be eliminated.
On Friday, one person was arrested and accused of striking a driver with a flag pole during the protests. The driver then pepper sprayed the protester. But in all, only a small handful of people showed up outside the gates of Veteran's Memorial Stadium
“It’s been very calm, very peaceful,” Sgt. Chris Hutchison with the Clovis Police Department said earlier on.
Though, police are beefing up security for Saturday afternoon, when the final events of the track and field championships take place.
Of the few protesters there against Hernandez Friday, one declined to speak with KVPR and the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, saying he “voted to defund NPR.”
But another who did speak out, Gloria Dans, said she was there to protest Hernandez’s participation in the track and field games based on her religious values.
“I think it’s unfair,” Dans said. “The Bible even says that men are stronger [than women].”
Dans added that the transgender female athlete should be disqualified, and that she should have never been allowed to come this far in the track and field games.
The CIF, the state agency that oversees high school sports in California, updated its rules following criticism from President Trump much earlier in the week. The CIF first expanded the eligibility for “biological females” to compete in the state championship. Then, it amended the rules to add that if a girl places second to a transgender athlete, she will share the top spot on the podium with the transgender student athlete.
Mary Davis traveled to Clovis from San Diego to protest against the CIF’s rule changes.
While she doesn’t have any children competing in the event, she filed a complaint against the organization with the federal Department of Justice.
“My issue is not with the athlete,” Davis said. “It’s the fact that CIF is allowing [her to compete.] They keep changing the rules…now they’re allowing two first place medals. It’s almost like a bad game of chicken, and they need to be held accountable.”
Protesters were declined entry to the main events on Friday, but they stuck around for the afternoon, and walked around the perimeter of the stadium chanting “save girls’ sports.”
A “free speech” zone was set up outside the stadium by organizers. But it had no shade and no protesters throughout the afternoon as temperatures reached the high 90s. Meanwhile, a small plane flew over the stadium with a banner reading “no boys in girls’ sports.”
Despite the single incident and intense online fury over Hernandez, most people who attended Friday’s qualifying track and field events were there to watch the games. Before the event, a group known as “LGBTQ Fresno” had issued a call to followers to show up to the games and support and cheer on Hernandez while she competed. They had called for support, rather than protests at the events, at the request of the girl’s mother.
Three spectators who spoke with KVPR and the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative – John, Junior and Jacob – traveled from Ontario, a city 20 minutes northwest of Hernandez’s high school.
They said they drove four hours to support their friend Danny Reza from Chaffey High School. He was running the 1,600 meter event.
The young spectators said they knew about the controversies surrounding the transgender female athlete’s participation in competitions. But all three said they did not have an issue with her competing. The CIF rule changes made sense to them in this situation.
“Whoever she misplaces – if she medals – gets a medal too. It seems like a fair compromise,” Jacob said.