California’s latest track and field controversy is once again putting common sense on trial — because apparently in the Golden State, even the medal podium has to be politically engineered now.
At the CIF Southern Section finals on Saturday, trans athlete AB Hernandez dominated the girls’ high jump, long jump, and triple jump events, sweeping all three titles. But instead of simply addressing the growing concerns from female athletes and parents, California officials doubled down on their now-infamous “solution”: creating shared podium spots so biological girls who finished behind a trans athlete could still stand next to the winner. Because nothing says “fair competition” quite like participation trophies designed by bureaucrats.
Photos and videos from the ceremonies quickly exploded across social media, especially one image showing Hernandez sharing the top podium spot with the highest-finishing female athlete. Unsurprisingly, the backlash was immediate. Republican lawmakers like Rep. Tim Burchett and Rep. Nancy Mace joined activists Riley Gaines and Jennifer Sey in criticizing the CIF for continuing policies many Americans see as blatantly unfair to girls in sports.
The CIF’s pilot program, first introduced last year, allows female athletes displaced by a trans competitor to move up one placement. It also gives additional girls a chance to qualify for state finals if they narrowly missed out because of competing against a biological male. In other words, California officials know there’s a competitive advantage — they just refuse to admit the obvious part out loud.
The organization defended the policy in a May 16 letter to parents, claiming it values “all student-athletes” while complying with California law. That law, passed in 2013 under former Gov. Jerry Brown, allows students to compete based on their gender identity in sex-segregated sports.
This controversy has been brewing ever since Hernandez advanced to the state finals last year, prompting President Donald Trump to call out California and Gov. Gavin Newsom directly. Trump warned the state could lose federal funding if it failed to comply with his executive order protecting girls’ and women’s sports. Shortly after, Trump’s Department of Justice filed a Title IX lawsuit against California’s education agencies following Hernandez’s state championship wins.
Meanwhile, protesters with the “Save Girls Sports” movement gathered again last weekend during preliminary events, demanding fairness for female athletes who feel increasingly sidelined in their own competitions. Newsom’s office responded by accusing conservatives of “weaponizing” the debate — the usual playbook whenever people dare question progressive policies.
Despite the growing outrage nationwide, Hernandez will now advance to the CIF state preliminaries next Saturday and could once again compete for state titles later this month in Clovis, California.
The silver lining here is that more Americans are finally paying attention to what’s happening in girls’ sports. Parents, athletes, and lawmakers across the country are speaking up louder than ever, and the push to restore fairness isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
