California Family Council (CFC) held a press conference earlier this month encouraging the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) to keep boys out of girls sports and locker rooms.
The event, which featured seven CIF athletes impacted by boys invading their sports, took place outside the Long Beach hotel where CIF leadership had gathered for its winter federated council meeting.
CIF allows students to compete in sports and use locker rooms consistent with their “gender identity,” rather than their sex. The policy has impacted more than 360,000 female athletes in California public schools, according to the Independent Council on Women’s Sports.
“We’ve told [the CIF members] inside that they have the opportunity to do the right thing, that we have attorneys that are willing to work with them pro bono to fix their policy,” Sophia Lorey, CFC’s Outreach Director, kicked off the press conference.
“So, when CIF continues to tell you that their hands are tied by the state, they’re lying to you,” Lorey emphasized. “They have their own policy that allows this to happen.”
Per its Gender Diversity Toolkit, CIF’s sports participation policy:
- Allows male students to participate in girls sports without undergoing sex-rejecting procedures or producing any proof of sexual identity confusion.
- Allows students to switch between sexed leagues from one semester to another.
- Prevents coaches from requiring a transgender-identified student to change in a private area unless the student requests it.
- Instructs coaches not to inform players or parents when a transgender-identified student joins an opposite-sex team.
Parents, women’s rights activists and school board members from across the state spoke at CFC’s press conference, affirming girls’ rights to single-sex sports and spaces and vowing to fight until CIF begins protecting female athletes.
California assemblymembers Kate Sanchez and David Tangipa also took the podium in support of California’s female athletes.
“Title IX was never meant to be controversial,” Sanchez, who introduced an assembly bill last year to protect girls sports, opined.
“It was meant to guarantee girls a fair shot, a fair race, a fair roster and a fair opportunity to win.”
Tangipa urged California fathers to stand in bold defense of their daughters:
He continued:
The press conference centered on the experiences of Hadeel Hazimeh, Madison McPherson, Taylor Starling, Celeste Duyst, Audrey Vanherweg, Reese Hogan and Olivia Viola — seven female athletes forced to compete with and against men in high school sports.
Hazimeh and McPherson sued Jurupa Valley Unified School District for forcing them to play volleyball with a male teammate — likely AB Hernandez.
“Over the years, I witnessed the boy go through puberty,” McPherson, who also lost first place track finishes to Hernandez, told the audience. “No girl on the volleyball team grew in strength and agility like he did.”
McPherson repeatedly brought safety concerns to Jurupa Valley High School’s administration but said the school “treated [her] as if [she] was the problem.”
“I witnessed many girls get hurt, including my sister, and the school did nothing,” she recalled.
Taylor Starling lost her hard-earned spot on Martin Luther King High School’s varsity track team when Abigail Jones, a boy, joined the team in November 2024.
“He was not expected to attend practice while I did everything that was required of a varsity athlete,” Starling recalled.
“I woke up for early morning practice and ran six miles with my team after school, all while juggling homework and extra classes like all of the other girls.”
When Jones took Starling’s spot on varsity, she and her friend Kaitlyn wore “Save Girls Sports” T-shirts to practice.
In response, Starling said, her athletic director “made me remove my shirt and said it was like wearing a swastika in front of a Jewish person and threatened disciplinary action if I wore it again.”
Celeste Duyst competes in track at Aurora Grande High School, where she is forced to change with Lily Norcross, a boy.
“There’s a boy who watches girls change in my locker room at my school,” she said frankly, continuing:
Duyst ended her message with a pointed question for CIF:
Audrey Venherweg, a teammate of Duyst’s at Aurora Grande High, chose to change in her car rather than subject herself to Norcross’ behavior.
“I’m more comfortable changing in my car than in my own school’s locker room, where boys are welcomed to watch girls undress,” Venherweg emphasized.
Reese Hogan, a varsity, tri-sport track athlete at Lutheran High School, lost five races to AB Hernandez between 2024 and 2026 — including the triple jump in last year’s state finals.
Hogan’s beat her personal record in the state triple jump and shattered her school’s previous record. Her performance should have launched her to first place. Instead, she took second behind Hernandez, who “beat” her by more than four feet.
“I felt pride in my accomplishment, but also deep disappointment because my hard work, my record-breaking performance and my rightful title were taken away from me simply because CIF allowed a male to compete in the girls division,” Hogan concluded, audibly distressed by the memory.
Olivia Viola, a senior, four-year track athlete and Hogan’s teammate, spent the last year working to ensure she and her team no longer compete against boys.
“I’ve been on the news twice, interviewed, involved in rallies, press conferences, petitions, written so many speeches — and so have most of these girls,” Viola referenced her fellow speakers.
“But despite all of our efforts to push back, we are about to be in the exact same situation this season,” she concluded.
“Nothing can express the disappointment and frustration of knowing that after everything, nothing has changed.”
While these athletes poured their hearts out, California Assemblyman Adam Lowenthal filmed his own video across the street, criticizing Assemblymembers Sanchez and Tangipa for failing to invite him, a representative of Long Beach, to speak.
“We all know that [they] don’t actually care about women,” Lowenthal asserted, noting the Republican members failed to support a $90 million funding bill for Planned Parenthood.
Lorey approached Lowenthal to ask if he wanted to join the conference to stand up for girls sports and spaces.
“This is not a partisan issue,” she told him. “This is common sense.”
Lowenthal declined her invitation.
Additional Articles and Resources
DOJ Lawsuit Describes California Department of Education’s Infuriating Treatment of Girls
Feds Pressure California After Boy Wins in Girls Track and Field Championship
California Sues DOJ Over ‘Transgender’ Athlete Ban
Girls Volleyball Team Forfeits Fame to Avoid Playing Boy
Photo courtesy of Alyssa Cruz and California Family Council