A forfeited high school volleyball game in California has crystallized a raging national conflict over the participation of transgender athletes. When Riverside Poly High School refused to field its girls’ team against Jurupa Valley High—whose roster includes transgender student AB Hernandez—it transformed a local match into a symbol of a much larger cultural and legal struggle. The school cited a need for a “safe, positive environment,” but for AB’s family and advocates, the forfeit was a clear act of discrimination, denying a young person the fundamental experience of team membership based on her gender identity.
The response from AB’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, was a powerful rebuttal from the heart of the issue. At a school board meeting, she confronted the officials responsible, stating, “This has nothing to do with fairness in sports and everything to do with erasing transgender children.” She pinpointed the influence of external political campaigns, arguing they use fear to manipulate policy at the direct expense of vulnerable youth. Her testimony underscored that the debate is rarely about the nuanced specifics of athletic competition, but rather about the basic social recognition and inclusion of trans people.
AB Hernandez’s personal experience reveals the human toll of this political fight. She has been subjected to organized harassment, including being heckled by adults at a track meet—an incident so disruptive it affected the race itself. The presence of protesters wearing “Save Girls Sports” apparel at her events creates a hostile climate that contradicts the inclusive mission of public education. For AB, the message is clear: despite just wanting to be a “normal kid,” her identity makes her a target and a pawn in a wider ideological war.
The incident has inevitably been pulled onto the national stage, with prominent political figures leveraging it to threaten funding and file lawsuits. This escalation politicizes AB’s existence further, putting her and her family under a relentless spotlight. The family’s struggle highlights a critical tension: while politicians and advocates debate abstract principles of fairness, a real teenager is being denied the tangible, formative benefits of sports, from physical health to social bonding and self-esteem.
The forfeit at Riverside Poly is more than a lost game; it is a act of exclusion that sets a concerning precedent. It challenges communities to define what safety and fairness truly mean, and to decide whether our institutions will protect all students or only those who conform to certain norms. As the Hernandez family continues to advocate for AB’s right to play, their fight underscores a fundamental question: can we create spaces where competition and inclusion coexist, or will we allow fear to write the rules of the game?
