California opens track-and-field finals to more girls after success of trans athlete
NBCMAY 27
California Revises Track Meet Rules Amid Trans Athlete Debate
Above: Transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley ties for fourth in the girls' high jump at 5-4 (1.63m) during the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High School on May 24, 2025, in Moorpark, California. Image copyright: Kirby Lee/Contributor/Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
The Spin
Republican narrative
California is wrong morally, legally, and biologically. Federal law explicitly bans discrimination and harassment against students based on sex, which is what's happening when you allow boys to compete against girls, effectively kicking girls out of all competition. The federal government must take action until California finally acknowledges this reality.
Democratic narrative
Based on every metric, it's the Republicans, not Democrats, who are wrong. Not only is Hernandez a girl, but she isn't even the top-ranked athlete in the state, let alone the country, yet dozens of parents showed up to her meet to harass her. Harassing children is against the law, which is why the government should be working to protect this 16-year-old girl, not her intolerant opponents.