Transgender athlete responds to backlash after winning race
AB Hernandez, a 16-year-old transgender athlete from Southern California, has spoken out after winning a state track-and-field title amid ongoing public debate and protests surrounding her participation.
Hernandez, who competes for Jurupa Valley High School, earned gold in the triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state championship on May 31, finishing with a jump of 42 feet 2 inches. She tied for first place with Kira Grant Hatcher, who recorded a 40-foot-5-inch jump.
Ahead of the competition, CIF implemented a policy to preserve rankings for cisgender female athletes competing alongside transgender athletes. The updated rule ensures that any student who placed behind a transgender athlete would retain their position in the rankings. It also allowed for an additional cisgender female competitor in each event Hernandez entered.
Despite these measures, Hernandez’s participation sparked protests at multiple meets, including the state championship. Demonstrators gathered outside the venue, criticizing CIF’s policy and arguing it compromises fairness in girls’ sports.
In an interview with KCRA, Hernandez addressed the backlash directly: “It’s definitely crazy. I get a lot of hate comments, but I’m like, ‘I don’t care.’ I’m a 16-year-old girl with a mad attitude, you think I’m going to care?”
She also described the protestors at high school sporting events as “just weird,” adding that the atmosphere inside the stadium was overwhelmingly supportive: “I wasn’t expecting any of it, to be honest. I was just expecting to go out there and compete alone, but the support was amazing. They really made my experience perfect. I’ll forever be grateful.”
Hernandez also tied for first place in the varsity high jump final alongside Jillene Wetteland and Lelanie Laruelle, sharing the podium under the same CIF rule. “I did what I wanted to do,” she said. “My performance was all I wanted to be good. So all this backlash … I performed my best, so that’s all I cared about.”
The controversy has extended beyond the track. President Donald Trump weighed in on the issue, using his platform Truth Social to condemn California’s policy. “California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum [sic], continues to ILLEGALLY allow ‘MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS,’” Trump posted.
He further threatened to withhold federal funding from the state unless it complied with his February executive order aimed at “protecting women’s sports.” Though federal education funds, estimated at $250 million, were briefly at risk, the White House ultimately released them amid legal challenges.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would review California’s School Success and Opportunity Act, which allows transgender students to participate in sports based on gender identity, to determine if it conflicts with Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education.
As the legal and political battles continue, Hernandez remains focused on her sport, and unapologetically proud of her performance.