Merced County school forfeits semifinal due to transgender sports controversy

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The girls' varsity volleyball squad astatine Stone Ridge Christian School successful Merced County decided to forfeit a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) semifinal lucifer connected Saturday alternatively than look San Francisco Waldorf School who they judge has a transgender player.

The schoolhouse released a connection astir its decision:

"We volition ever basal for Biblical information and what is right. Girls indispensable vie against girls for fairness, information and truth."

Julie Fagundes, Campus Administrator and Academic Dean at Stone Ridge Christian School

That determination could person superior consequences; the CIF released a statement:

Stoneridge Christian advised CIF they are forfeiting their November 16 volleyball semifinal game. Any squad that withdraws from CIF playoffs is taxable to sanctions astatine some the Section and State levels. No determination has been made astatine this clip regarding aboriginal sanctions.

Rebecca Brutlag, Director of Media astatine the California Interscholastic Federation

The speech astir transgender athletes has gained nationalist attraction with a recent case over a trans pistillate playing connected the San Jose State University women's volleyball squad present heading to court.

It is simply a taxable that hits location for Arien Reed who is seat of the Fresno-based nonprofit organization, Trans-E-motion.

“Gender is simply a truly mediocre predictor of diversion performance, of height, weight, strength. I americium idiosyncratic who was an jock for galore years. I participated and martial arts. And I could archer you, earlier my modulation I inactive kicked the butts of galore men. I conscionable needed to beryllium smarter than them and I could usage that against them. I didn't person to beryllium stronger," Reed said. "A batch of radical are saying that trans women shouldn't enactment successful sports due to the fact that they mightiness beryllium taller, oregon they mightiness beryllium stronger. And adjacent erstwhile that is true, there's besides plentifulness of women who are calved pistillate who besides person those aforesaid traits, who are besides tall, who are besides strong."

Reed explained the outgo for exclusion is highly precocious due to the fact that it takes a toll connected the intelligence wellness of the trans community.

"This thought that lone definite humans are quality capable to enactment successful the quality activity," Reed said. "It doesn't conscionable wounded that kid. It hurts each trans kids."

Reed emphasized the signifier of banning athletes could acceptable a dangerous precedent and perchance harm each women. 

“We're fundamentally defining the benignant of women who are allowed to enactment successful sports," helium said. "They're conscionable specified a immense diverseness that we are ignoring erstwhile we decide, Oh, anyone astatine this level, testosterone oregon supra is cheating and we're conscionable going to footwear you out. So, tons of cisgender women are getting kicked retired for having a earthy oregon the existing testosterone level that is beyond what astir women have.” 

As of Monday evening, representatives with San Francisco Waldorf School person not responded to YourCentralValley.com's petition for comment.