California Volleyball Forfeit Sparks National Debate Over Transgender Athletes
What should have been a routine high school volleyball match in California never happened. Instead, it ended in controversy when Riverside Poly High School chose to forfeit rather than face Jurupa Valley — a decision parents say had nothing to do with the players and everything to do with one student: transgender athlete AB Hernandez.
A Game That Never Happened
The August 15 matchup was abruptly canceled, with Riverside Poly citing a commitment to providing a “safe, positive environment for all student-athletes.” But to many parents and advocates, the decision was less about safety and more about exclusion.
Multiple parents alleged that the school district — not the girls themselves — directed the team to forfeit because of Hernandez’s participation.
The move immediately drew comparisons to the 2022 North Carolina case of Payton McNabb, who was injured during a volleyball match against a transgender player. Riverside Unified School District board member Amanda Vickers referenced that case directly in an interview with Fox News Digital, saying, “Tonight, the girls of Riverside Poly High School, they’re not going to end up like Payton McNabb.”
A Mother Speaks Out
Those remarks prompted an emotional response from Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda, who accused Vickers and other officials of fueling hostility toward her daughter.
“You are a board member. You have an oath to protect, to support all children — not just the ones that fit your ideas and beliefs,” she said at a school board meeting. “My daughter is not the problem. The problem is coordinated efforts from people who spread fear and turn parents against each other, hiding discrimination behind religion.”
For Nereyda, the forfeit wasn’t about fairness in sports at all — it was about erasing trans youth from public life.
A Pattern of Hostility
This isn’t the first time Hernandez has faced public backlash. Earlier this year, she was heckled by a group of adults — including school board members — while competing at a Yorba Linda High School track meet. The shouting caused a false start, but Hernandez chose to keep competing. “I’m still a kid,” she later said. “When adults act this way, it says more about them than me.”
Recent postseason events featuring Hernandez have also drawn protests, with attendees wearing “Save Girls Sports” shirts. School officials have gone so far as to describe the slogan as hate speech in court filings.
Politics at Play
The controversy has since leapt from the gym to the national stage. Former President Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social, threatening to strip federal funding from schools that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ divisions. His administration has filed lawsuits against both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation, claiming their policies violate federal protections.
🔹 The Bigger Picture
For the Hernandez family, however, this battle isn’t abstract policy — it’s daily life. “My daughter deserves to be on that court like any other student,” Nereyda said.
What started as a forfeited volleyball match has become another flashpoint in the broader fight over transgender rights in sports. To some, it’s about fairness and safety; to others, it’s about inclusion and dignity. For AB Hernandez, it’s simpler still: she just wants to play the game she loves.