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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The University of Michigan has not renewed the contract of the female football staffer who was suspected to have been in a relationship with fired coach Sherrone Moore.
A university spokesperson confirmed the departure to Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
“Her contract expired and was not renewed,” the spokesperson said.
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Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, second from right, walks with his wife, Kelli Moore, left, and his attorney, Ellen K. Michaels, right, towards the courtroom, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Moore allegedly maintained an inappropriate, years-long relationship with the staffer, despite him being married with multiple children.
Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital revealed allegations made by the staffer’s attorney, Heidi Sharp, on the day that Moore allegedly entered her home without permission, which later resulted in his arrest.
Det. Jessica Welker of the Pittsfield Township Police Department testified in court that the staffer called Sharp after Moore entered the residence and refused to leave. Sharp then told emergency dispatch that Moore was inside of her client’s home “attacking her.”
The woman accused Moore of continuing to approach her until she was able to get her attorney on the phone, at which point he “immediately backed up and turned the knives on himself, pointing them at his neck, saying that he was going to kill himself and that she was going to watch.”
Then-Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore looks on during the college football game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Illinois Fighting Illini on Oct. 19, 2024, at Memorial Stadium, in Champaign, Illinois. (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Moore then left the staffer’s residence and was later taken into custody by law enforcement, where he denied physically attacking the staffer.
The staffer, whose LinkedIn profile listed her as an Executive Assistant to the Head Football Coach at the University of Michigan, earned just over $58,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to public payroll information. In the 2025 fiscal year, though, her salary jumped to $99,000, according to a salary disclosure report from the University of Michigan.
That’s a 70.62 percent increase year-over-year — even higher than the figure circulating social media right now, via UMSalary.info.
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Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, center, appears in the courtroom, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Moore, who faces felony home invasion, stalking and illegal entry charges, scored a legal victory last month when a judge granted a request for a hearing to learn more about the investigation that led to criminal charges against him.
Judge J. Cedric Simpson, who is presiding, expressed concern that a police detective didn’t disclose Moore’s employer-employee relationship with the woman when a magistrate authorized a warrant for his arrest. Simpson described it as a “glaring omission.”
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Aaron Rodgers made clear on Wednesday that he has no plans to live a “public life” with his mystery wife, citing immense media scrutiny on his past relationships with high-profile women.
The NFL star previously dated actresses Olivia Munn and Shailene Woodley and former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick. Rodgers and Woodley were engaged in 2021, but called off their wedding plans in 2022 and later broke up.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) reacts on the field before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium on Oct. 26, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
Rodgers lambasted his previous girlfriends during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” though he didn’t mention any of them by name. He said when he first met his wife, she didn’t want to date an athlete and moved back overseas.
“I got myself into crazy town, and I was with individuals who called the paparazzi, who leaked or talked about where I was living, who coerced me to make the proverbial Instagram, social media posts,” he said. “I never really wanted to live a public life. If you look at the saga with my family, for years it was one-sided. They were making shots in the media saying bulls—. I never said anything until it got to the point that, all right, enough is enough. … I’m not a social media guy anymore.”
“The narratives have gotten a little bit ridiculous,” he continued. “To some of those, I just want to say, just f—ing move on. It’s been years and years and years. I’ve dealt with clinically bipolar depressed relevance seeking, I dealt with people that wanted to search out other possibilities before they could commit to me, and then they go on TV talking about how I ruined their lives and all this s—.
“And I just want to say, move on with your life. Stop lying about me. Just move on with your life and be happy. It’s not just them, but it’s other people in the media that there’s this relevance they feel that they have to mention my name. I’m not seeking relevance. I’m not seeking attention.”
Aaron Rodgers previously dated actresses Olivia Munn and Shailene Woodley and ex-NASCAR driver Danica Patrick (not pictured). (Getty Images)
Rodgers added that, when his playing career is done, “you won’t see me.”
“I’m not doing TV … I’m not going to be out and about.”
The four-time MVP also pushed back on those seeking to figure out who his wife is, calling the issue “very strange.” He said earlier in the interview that the media frenzy caused him to move out of his Malibu, California, home.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) runs off the field after the game against the Miami Dolphins at Acrisure Stadium on Dec. 15, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
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Rodgers has only said that his wife’s name is Brittani. The two started dating in December 2024, and they were married at some point in 2025. He said she’s a person who doesn’t want to be in the public spotlight and is happy with the possibility of leaving public life as well.
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He may be one of the best players in the NFL, but Cleveland Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett isn’t great at following traffic laws.
The 2025 Defensive Player of the Year was cited for driving 94 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 71 in Congress Township, Ohio, which is between Cleveland and Columbus, back on Feb. 21, according to court records.
This speeding ticket marks the ninth since Garrett has entered the NFL since his rookie season in 2017, which includes a scary moment where he flipped his Porsche in 2022 after an incident where speeding was a factor.
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Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Garrett was cited then for going 65 mph in a 45-mph zone at the time.
Garrett was also driving a Porsche during this traffic stop, as the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office pulled over the Browns star as he was going 24 mph over the speed limit in the early hours last month. Before being pulled over, Garrett was spotted at a college basketball game between Bowling Green and Miami of Ohio in Oxford, which is near Cincinnati.
Prior to this ticket, Garrett was pulled over during Browns training camp on Aug. 9, when he was driving 100 mph in a 60-mph zone in Strongsville, Ohio, which is near the team’s Berea training facility.
The Browns had just returned home from their preseason matchup against the Carolina Panthers, which led to a $250 fine for Garrett as well.
He was peppered with questions from the media about his speeding past following his then-eighth citation, but he declined to respond.
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns looks on during the second quarter in the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on October 26, 2025, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
“I’d honestly prefer to talk about football and this team than anything I’m doing off the field other than the back-to-school event that I did the other day,” Garrett said to media on Aug. 20.
Garrett added that he tried to “keep my personal life personal. And I’d rather focus on this team when I can.”
It was hard not to ask Garrett about what happened in 2022, when he suffered a shoulder and biceps strains, among other less serious injuries, after his car flipped over. He had to miss the team’s Week 4 contest against the Atlanta Falcons, though he returned to his normal self that year. He had 16 sacks and two forced fumbles in 16 games for Cleveland.
This past year, Garrett broke the single-season sack record (23) with a league-high 33 tackles for loss in an insane campaign that made him a lock for the Defensive Player of the Year Award in his ninth season for the Browns. He had now made it three straight first-team All-Pro honors and five overall.
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns looks on during warmups prior to the game at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 26, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
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But Garrett will now have to either appear in court on March 10, or pay a fine of more than $100 for his latest speeding ticket, per WKYC in Cleveland. After signing a then-record four-year, $160 million extension with Cleveland last year, the latter is likely the option he’ll choose.
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