EDITORS' CORNER
OPINION: Trans-female HS track star wins yet again, and his mom and others think you’re mean for questioning it. Too bad.
As could easily have been predicted, California high school trans-female athlete AB Hernández defeated all challengers in the high, long, and triple jumps last weekend at the California Interscholastic Federation’s Southern Section championships.
In the latter event, Hernández, a biological male, beat the second-place competitor by over two feet. He also won the long jump by almost a foot and a half.
Hernández’s results essentially are a repeat of his efforts from earlier this year, where he set a girls’ triple jump meet record.
But spectators and (biological) female competitors are getting fed up. At the recent meet, numerous attendees criticized Hernández and state officials, while some athletes who finished behind Hernández refused to share the medal podium with him, the New York Post reports.
One competitor’s father brought up how Hernández had previously ripped his critics, calling them “children,” “idiotic,” and “bullies.” The father said his daughter “shouldn’t be the one fighting for this […] where are the adults fighting for the kids?”
Another meet attendee called Hernández’s participation in the meet “a form of neo-misogyny.”
“We fought hard for Title IX,” the person said. “We are not going backwards. I’m not going to have some boy shove girls off a podium.”
A year ago, the California Interscholastic Federation instituted a “pilot” policy whereby biological females wouldn’t be penalized for being beat out by trans-females like Hernández. At last weekend’s meet, the girl who finished second to Hernández in the high jump got to stand on the first place podium alongside the trans-athlete.
This policy doesn’t sit well with Hernández’s mom Nereyda, who according to the Post shared an Instagram message from the pro-trans group Rainbow Families Action: “All these big tough ex-athletes at CIF, and the most courage they could muster was to hand this to coaches at AB’s meet today.”
MORE: Another biological male wins high school track championship
“This” was a letter from the CIF explaining the policy started last year would still be used at this year’s championships.
The post continued: “Not one of them was brave enough to look [AB] or her mother in the eye and say ‘This whole project of violating Ed Code is aimed at you. A child’ […] Government sanctioned bullying of a kid?”
A later post from the group read “AB Hernandez continues to stare down the harassment and abuse and literally rise above. We are cheering for her, not just as an athlete, but as a human who has shown us all that courage and dedication to being who you are remains undefeated.”
In her own Instagram post, Nereyda wrote “No matter how differently [AB] may be seen by some, she continues to walk onto that field with the most beautiful smile on her face, gives EVERY event her ALL, and carries herself with grace, determination, and sportsmanship.
“Even with the Pilot Rule in place and knowing her points do not count in the end, she still shows up, works hard, competes with heart, and never stops believing in herself.”
Over at Out Magazine, trans-female writer and University of Hartford “contributing faculty” member Dawn Ennis (pictured) was irked Hernández was “forced to share 1st place with cisgender girls” last weekend: Even if Hernández “defeats every single competitor” at the state finals next weekend, “the best she can hope for under CIF rules is co-winner, because she’s transgender.”
I’m sorry, Mrs. Hernández and [whatever honorific] Ennis: You’re simply not going to win on this one. This is a rare contemporary issue that unites the right and left.
It certainly goes without saying that AB shouldn’t be harassed nor bullied if he wants to live as a female, but standing against biological males competing against females — and speaking out about it or refusing a medal in protest — aren’t either of those things.
It is legitimate, protected speech pertaining to a political (and scientific) issue. So get used to it.
MORE: Study: Opposition to trans athletes rooted in ‘homophobia,’ disdain for female athletes
