Sports
California high school explains decision to forfeit volleyball match against team with trans athlete
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One of the California high schools that forfeited its volleyball match to another with a trans athlete on its roster provided an explanation for its decision not to play.
Jurupa Valley High School’s girls volleyball team has been mired in controversy this season due AB Hernandez, a trans athlete, playing for its squad.
Orange Vista High School, which was scheduled to face Jurupa Valley on Aug. 29, provided Fox News Digital with a statement addressing the forfeit.
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‘Save Girls Sports’ protestors and trans athlete AB Hernandez (Getty Images)
“After thoughtful discussions our student-athletes had with coaching staff, it was decided to cancel our upcoming Girls’ Varsity volleyball match against Jurupa Valley High School. This decision was made in conjunction with the athletic directors at both Orange Vista and Jurupa Valley,” the statement read.
“Our priority is always the well-being of our students. We are proud of our athletes for bringing their thoughts forward and for supporting one another to make this a team decision.”
Maribel Munoz, the mother of a female player on Jurupa Valley, provided Fox News Digital copies of messages sent by the team’s coach, Liana Manu, to parents of players, informing them that the team’s upcoming games against Rim of the World High School on Aug. 25 and Orange Vista.
MORE CALIFORNIA GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL TEAMS FORFEIT TO SQUAD WITH TRANS ATHLETE
Jurupa Valley also addressed the forfeits in a previous statement to Fox News Digital.
“We understand and acknowledge the disappointment of our Jurupa Valley High School athletes who are ready and prepared to play. Decisions to cancel matches were made by teams in other districts,” the statement read.
“As a public school district in California, JUSD is compelled to follow the law, which protects students from discrimination based on gender identity and requires that students be permitted to participate on athletic teams that are consistent with their gender identity (California Education Code 221.5 (f)). This is consistent with the guidance provided by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
First-place winners AB Hernandez, left, and Jillene Wetteland share a light moment before the medal ceremony for the high jump at the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, Calif., Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
“We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride. We are currently working to find additional matches to give them that opportunity.”
The national spotlight on Jurupa Valley’s girls volleyball team began when Riverside Poly High School announced it forfeited their Aug. 15 matchup. Multiple parents of Riverside Poly players, as well as a school board member, told Fox News Digital the forfeit was in response Hernandez being on Jurupa Valley’s roster.
Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, addressed the situation in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.
“I understand the discomfort some may feel, because I was once there, too. The difference is, I chose to learn, to grow, and to open my heart,” she said.
“Believe me, I know some people genuinely don’t understand what it means to be transgender. I’m still learning too, right alongside my child. That is why I choose not to respond with anger or disrespect. Instead, I choose empathy, because learning takes time, and compassion makes all the difference.”
AB Hernandez, a transgender student at Jurupa Valley High School, poses for photos with her medals at the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, Calif., Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Nereyda Hernandez added that what sets her “baby” apart is “not her size or strength, but her skill and the way she plays the game.”
“This is a child, and I can assure you that she sees your daughters as peers, as teammates, as friends, not through a lens of anything inappropriate. I know it may be hard to understand, but she is just another girl who wants to play,” Nereyda Hernandez continued.
“Finally, I leave you with this: My child is so innocent, she didn’t even realize the forfeited games were because of her.”
In July, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) for its policies that allowed biological males to compete in girls sports across the state, which went against President Donald Trump’s executive order signed in February to prohibit it.
Hernandez is a senior at Jurupa Valley, making this the final high school volleyball season for the athlete.
Transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley leaves the track during the CIF State Track and Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025, in Clovis, California. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
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Munoz, who says her daughter has played alongside Hernandez on the girls volleyball team for the last three years, is the first parent of one of the trans athlete’s teammates to speak out against the school for its handling of the situation.
“It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” Munoz told Fox News Digital.
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Star LAFC recruit Son Heung-Min is settling into life in Los Angeles brilliantly.
After netting his debut goal for the club last Saturday — a stunning 30-yard free kick against FC Dallas no less — the South Korea captain capped a fine week by throwing the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
Ahead of the Dodgers hosting Cincinnati Reds, the former Premier League star stepped up to the plate and launched a finely arced right-handed strike, much to the delight of the fans at the stadium.
Son’s pitch comes just days after BTS star V also threw the ceremonial first pitch in LA. We’ll leave it up to you to decide which Korean superstars’ throw was best.
Sports
Travis Kelce calls for Shedeur Sanders to start for Browns amid controversy: ‘Give the people what they want’
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Travis Kelce has spoken out about the ongoing controversy over Shedeur Sanders‘ role with the Cleveland Browns.
During his “New Heights” podcast this week, the Kansas City Chiefs star said he believes the Browns should start Sanders, who is third on the team’s depth chart behind veteran Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.
Travis Kelce spoke about Shedeur Sanders’ role with the Browns on the latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast, which aired before the official start of the NFL season. (Imagn)
“Give the people what they want, in terms of the Browns fans. Start Shedeur. … Put him in coach,” Kelce said. “Give the people what they want. The world wants to see him go out there, and not only play, but have success. At this point, guys are rooting for him. This isn’t anything against Dillon. This isn’t anything against Joe. I’m just saying the excitement is there for [Sanders] to go out there. He’s going to put eyes on the screen. He’s going to bring people to the game.
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“I would love to f—ing see it, man.”
On the contrary, Kelce’s brother and co-host, Jason Kelce, defended the team naming Joe Flacco as the starter.
“[Browns head coach Kevin] Stefanski and the Browns are trying to do the thing that they feel gives them the best chance to win football games,” Jason said. “If the Browns and Kevin Stefanski felt their best option and the most confident option they had to win games was Shedeur Sanders, they would be playing him.”
Still, Jason conceded that he “wants” to see Sanders play.
“What do I want? I want to see Shedeur Sanders,” Jason said.
Jason also rejected the “conspiracies” surrounding the situation as to why Sanders is as low on the depth chart as he is.
Criticism and conspiracy theories directed at the Browns reemerged after the team’s preseason finale on Saturday.
Sanders entered the game in the third quarter and completed three of six passes for 14 yards, while taking five sacks for a combined loss of 41 yards against the Los Angeles Rams. He netted minus-27 yards for Cleveland before being pulled from the game on the final drive and replaced by veteran Tyler Huntley.
Huntley led the Browns’ offense on a game-winning field goal drive, and the Browns won 19-17.
It was a far cry from Sanders’ first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers Aug. 8, when he threw for two touchdowns and was praised by fans and sports stars, including LeBron James and Dawn Staley.
However, many fans and pundits were quick to defend Sanders for his rough outing on Saturday and blamed the Browns’ coaching for putting Sanders in a position where he had to rely on backup teammates while also calling questionable plays.
EX-NBA PLAYER MAKES SHEDEUR SANDERS-LEBRON JAMES COMPARISON AFTER QB’S PRESEASON DEBUT
Jason Kelce on the ESPN postseason countdown set during the 2025 Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium Feb. 2, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Former NFL quarterback Derek Carr questioned why Sanders wasn’t left in the game to finish the final drive.
“I need to understand why we don’t get to see Shedeur Sanders run this 2-minute drill? Wouldn’t you want to see your young QB operate in this situation? Get him more reps for the future? I didn’t see the whole game so maybe he already showed enough? Help me understand this…” Carr wrote on X.
Sports talk show host Skip Bayless posted a 16-minute rant in defense of Sanders on X, while condemning the Browns for their handling of the quarterback.
“They sabotaged it. They rigged it against him today, putting him in with third- and fourth-stringers, fifth-stringers. You got no shot at quarterback,” Bayless said.
Other users on social media leveled similar criticisms at the Browns, with some speculating that the obstacles being put in front of the quarterback are intentional.
Prior to that game, NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson stoked conspiracy theories related to Sanders in a recent interview, claiming that NFL teams were “told not to” draft Sanders to “make an example” of the quarterback when he fell to the fifth round of the NFL Draft in April.
“I tell you this much, what I heard from someone that’s in the NFL [is] that the NFL told [teams], ‘Don’t draft him, do not draft him,'” Dickerson said in a recent interview on the “Roggin and Rodney” show on AM 570 LA Sports.
“‘We’re going to make an example out of him.’ And this came from a very good source, a very good source. They were going to have him not get drafted to basically show you, ‘This is what happens when you do this.’ I mean, look, the NFL’s got all kinds of power. They do all kinds of stuff.”
Sanders’ slide out of the first round shocked many, including President Donald Trump, who condemned the league’s owners for passing on the quarterback in a Truth Social post.
ESPN host Stephen A. Smith revealed a text message from an associate who compared the situation to Colin Kaepernick being out of the NFL since 2016, suggesting “collusion.”
“‘This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion,'” Smith said of the content of the text, adding the situation goes beyond “talent evaluation.”
“All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they’re colluding, messing up everything. What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again.”
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders against the Philadelphia Eagles during a game at Lincoln Financial Field. (Kyle Ross/Imagn Images)
Sanders was eventually taken by the Browns on the third and final day of the draft with the 144th pick. The quarterback was initially considered a possible contender for the first overall pick early in the draft process after finishing his final season at Colorado.
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