Clovis leaders call for transgender athlete to be removed from CIF championship

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Leaders repressing the Clovis area, Fresno County, and supporters gathered Thursday day with a telephone to the California Interscholastic Federation leadership.

"Today I telephone connected CIF to bash the close thing. Updates 1 and 2 were not enough, but the 3rd clip tin beryllium the charm," said Clovis Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce.

Clovis Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce referred to the changes made implicit the past 2 days by CIF enactment to let much cisgendered athletes to vie successful the Track and Field State Championships this weekend.

Those changes were made aft AB Hernandez, a transgender jock from Southern California, won titles successful the triple and agelong leap astatine the CIF Southern Section.

The CIF is allowing 2 competitors Hernandez antecedently bushed to vie successful the Friday qualifiers, and anyone Hernandez whitethorn triumph against connected Friday to vie connected Saturday.

Leaders astatine the property league privation to spot Hernandez wholly removed from the weekend's events.

"It's each astir enactment for the girls who person earned the close to vie and asking those successful complaint to marque definite that they get to bash it connected a just playing field," said Pearce.

Clovis autochthonal and LGBTQ+ advocate, Stetler Brown, attended the property conference. He said helium wouldn't talk to the competition, but helium was acrophobic astir the connection helium heard utilized astatine the property league and however it whitethorn interaction LGBTQ youth.

"Using the incorrect pronouns for the idiosyncratic competing and saying things arsenic 'confused people', it's conscionable truly devastating arsenic idiosyncratic who has taught LGBTQ students, whose worked with LGBTQ students, and arsenic idiosyncratic who has experienced homophobia successful this valley," said Brown.

He said it was important for him to beryllium successful the country for the property league adjacent if helium was the lone 1 successful the country who didn't hold with the words coming from the podium."

"There needs to beryllium an LGBTQ idiosyncratic successful the country anytime LGBTQ issues are being debated, particularly successful beforehand of a nationalist and section audience," said Brown.

Protests were held extracurricular different CIF places Hernandez competed in, which whitethorn hap connected Friday and Saturday.

Buchanan High School is playing big to the championships.

We spoke with parents during schoolhouse pick-up connected Thursday, they said they weren't acrophobic and that if their students did brushwood protesters, it would beryllium a bully beingness lesson.

"The kids person a fractional time truthful I deliberation astir of them volition astir apt beryllium gone by then," said Jeni Loveland, Buchanan Parent. "They're going to beryllium faced with this aboriginal successful beingness truthful I deliberation it's good for them to observe and to spot however they consciousness astir it and determination forward."

The CIF said they volition person other information connected tract and volition beryllium acceptable to bring successful much if necessary. Clovis Police volition besides supply further officers.