Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has taken a firm stance against what he describes as the malicious behavior of adults toward teenage girls protesting the inclusion of a transgender athlete in a California high school volleyball game. Cruz reshared a photo on X of two individuals who appeared to be giving threatening gestures to the protesters, calling their actions ‘entirely dark.’ The incident took place during a playoff game where the team of the trans athlete, Jurupa Valley High School, lost in straight sets to Valencia High School. The controversy has intensified following a lawsuit filed by two senior players who left the team in September, citing discomfort with the trans athlete’s presence.
McPherson and Hazameh, two of Jurupa Valley’s senior players, were in the stands protesting with other girls after stepping away from the team in September. They filed a lawsuit against the Jurupa Unified School District, citing their experience with the trans athlete on the, court and in the locker room. Multiple sources, including board Trustee Leandra Blades at the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, which houses Valencia High School, confirmed to Fox News Digital that at least one of Valencia’s players did not take the court on Wednesday to avoid facing Hernandez. The situation has drawn national attention, with the U.S. Department of Justice filing a lawsuit against the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and California Department of Education for refusing to change its transgender eligibility policies to comply with President Donald Trump’s ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ executive order.
Cruz’s condemnation of the adults at the game has sparked further discussion about the broader issues surrounding transgender athletes in high school sports. The controversy highlights the deepening tensions between those who advocate for the inclusion of transgender athletes and those who believe such inclusion undermines traditional sports policies. The legal actions brought by the students and the federal lawsuit against California’s educational authorities underscore the significant impact this issue is having on school districts and sports organizations across the state. As the debate continues, the role of political figures like Cruz in shaping public opinion on this contentious topic remains a focal point of the ongoing discussions.