- calendar_today August 18, 2025
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A California girls’ high school volleyball team suffered two more forfeits after two opponents backed out, fueling a heated controversy over a transgender athlete on the team.
Maribel Munoz, a Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball player, was among the first parents alerted by coach Liana Manu about the development. Manu informed the parents that matches against Rim of the World High School and Orange Vista High School on August 25 and 29, respectively, were also scratched.
Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD), in a statement on the latest forfeits, said it was disappointed by the development, though noting that it was not responsible for the decision.
“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.
JUSD officials said in a letter to parents earlier in the month, also posted to social media by a local parent, that state law requires it not to discriminate against students based on gender identity. California Education Code 221.5 (f) states: “A school may not restrict or prevent a student from participating on an athletic team that is consistent with the student’s gender identity.”
“The guidance our office received from the California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has been and continues to be clear on this matter,” officials said.
“Our district is proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride,” the district added, saying that it was in talks to reschedule the matches so that players will have opportunities to play.
Jurupa Valley High School is losing games on August 25 (first row) and 29 (second row), 2023.
Jurupa Valley Unified School District via Fox News Digital
Jurupa Valley’s recent forfeits followed a withdrawal by Riverside Poly High School to play the team on August 15. Fox News Digital was told by parents of players and a Riverside Unified School District board member that its action was in protest of Jurupa Valley’s participation in its transgender athlete, senior AB Hernandez.
AB Hernandez, center left, with teammates. She is the player around whom the controversy has revolved.
Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, shared a statement in the past week on the continued backlash around her daughter’s participation. “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 in the statement.
Hernandez, herself a parent, pointed out in her letter that the young girl on the team is petite. “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,” she wrote. “This is a child who, by the way, didn’t even know about the forfeits until I told her yesterday.”
The transgender athlete first drew attention in the spring when she took part in the track and field season, in which she captured two state titles, one for long jump and another for triple jump. Her participation has been protested by other female athletes and their families, who donned “Save Girls’ Sports” shirts during competitions. Former President Donald Trump also made a statement on Truth Social the weekend before the state final, saying he didn’t want California to allow a trans athlete to play, though he did not mention Hernandez specifically.
In July, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over its policy allowing transgender athletes to play in girls’ sports. The lawsuit was filed despite an executive order Trump signed in February to prohibit such participation.
For Hernandez, a senior in high school volleyball, it would have been a welcome relief from the public attention to spend time practicing and playing with her team. But the season has turned instead to a recurring series of forfeits and an embattled community. Hernandez is among three seniors on the Jurupa Valley High School volleyball team.
“I just hope it can go back to the way it was. Before all of this happened,” Munoz, who said her daughter has played volleyball with Hernandez for three years, said. “It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” she added.
The friction from the situation has bled over into school board meetings. During a Riverside Unified School District board meeting last week, parents on both sides aired their grievances, with some supporting the Riverside Poly athletes for refusing to play and others speaking in defense of transgender students.
Nereyda Hernandez, a mother of a student in the same district, chided Riverside Poly board member Amanda Vickers for previously speaking to Fox News Digital and referring to the forfeit. “You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child,” she said. “You are a board member. You have an oath to protect, to support all children, not just the ones that fit your ideas, your beliefs.”
She accused outside forces of trying to pit parents against each other under a religious guise. “I am concerned about the fear tactics, the activism, the messaging from out of state,” she said. “This has nothing to do with fairness in sports and everything to do with erasing transgender children.”
By contrast, parents like Maria Carrillo praised the Riverside Poly girls for refusing to play. “Poly girls, we stand with you. Keep fighting, because these parents who support their confused child are the problem,” she said.
Jurupa Valley’s volleyball team’s regular season runs to mid-October. It’s unclear if it could face more forfeits, leaving athletes stuck in the middle of their own desire to play and a national controversy that shows little sign of abating.
Trump has returned to the issue as well, again threatening California schools. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, the former president again threatened California Governor Gavin Newsom, saying that if a California school district defied his administration’s position, “the Federal Government will withhold all funding from that School District.”
