3 SoCal student athletes file lawsuit over transgender athlete's participation in girls' sports
JURUPA VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- The Jurupa Unified School District and California Department of Education are facing a lawsuit that claims they violated students' rights by allowing a transgender athlete to compete in girls' sports.
The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was brought on by three female student athletes who claim they suffered sex discrimination under Title IX and civil rights violations when the defendants allowed a transgender athlete to compete on their high school track and volleyball teams.
"Girls' sports are for girls. No policy can erase the biological differences between males and females, and forcing young women to compete against boys is both unfair and unsafe," said Advocates for Faith & Freedom Senior Counsel Julianne Fleischer in a statement. "This case is about restoring dignity to women's sports and ensuring that the God-given distinctions between male and female are respected, not erased."
The lawsuit seeks to prohibit the district from forcing female student athletes to compete with and share locker rooms with a trans athlete identified only as "AH."
While "AH" is not named in the suit, Jurupa Valley High School senior AB Hernandez is a trans athlete who has competed in girls' volleyball and track-and-field teams. Hernandez was thrust into the spotlight after President Trump threatened to withhold California's federal funding over her participation in the state track and field championships in late May.
The plaintiffs claim the trans athlete made competition unfair, resulting in lower track and field rankings for those competing against her. The suit also says at least six schools forfeited volleyball matches rather than compete against the team that some of the plaintiffs, along with Hernandez, play on. They also claim an invasion of privacy due to sharing a locker room with the student and allege school officials ignored or dismissed their complaints.
Through the trans athlete's participation, the plaintiffs claim they experienced "unfair athletic competition, safety risks, sexual harassment, and deprivation of equal educational opportunities resulting in harm to Plaintiffs and many other female athletes."
Aside from the California Department of Education and the Jurupa Unified School District, the defendants of the suit also include the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports across the state. A spokesperson for the California Department of Education said it had not yet seen the lawsuit. Spokespeople for all three defendants declined to comment on pending litigation.
Of the plaintiffs, only one is named in the lawsuit: Madison McPherson, a now-collegiate volleyball player who previously competed in varsity track and field, soccer and volleyball at Jurupa Valley High School.
Two other plaintiffs, both minors, are identified only by their initials. But Julianne Fleischer, one of their attorneys, confirmed they are Alyssa McPherson, Madison's younger sister, and Hadeel Hazameh, both of whom still compete for Jurupa Valley High School. The athletes' mothers, Maribel Munoz and Hanan Hazameh, are also named plaintiffs.
CNN contributed to this report.
